Between Pirates and Princesses
by Penthesilea1
Summary: Blood-thirsty pirates. Beautiful Princesses. Races for your lives.
1. An Unexpected Invitation

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Between Pirates and Princesses

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Chapter One: An Unexpected Invitation

It was a bad way to begin the day. Tenel Ka found that her breath was coming in short, spasmic gasps, and a cold icy grip seemed to close around her throat, choking her breath off. A trickle of sweat ran down her neck, but she knew it wasn't from the humid, tropical temperature of the moon, Yavin IV.

No, not at all. This chill came from a premonition in the Force, a premonition so strong, she had almost fallen over in shock and pain. The feeling had been like knives pressed into her back, the cold steel biting into her skin, stabbing her heart and puncturing the breath from her lungs.

Yet, the premonition wasn't the only thing causing her problems.

Luke Skywalker's face, scarred innumerable times, with the skin around the eyes crinkled slightly with lines borne of many battles and countless troubles, looked at her with deep concern.

"Tenel Ka? Are you okay?" he asked in a gentle, yet firm voice, belaying concern for one of his top students and dear friend of his oldest nephew.

Tenel Ka took a deep cleansing breath, closing her eyes, and drew on the Force for some peace before nodding gravely, her red-gold braids swishing against the bare skin of her shoulders.

"There is no doubt she will die?" Tenel Ka questioned, praying for some kind of hope.

Luke's face twisted with sadness and he shrugged helplessly, knowing the answer would hurt.

"I'm sorry Tenel Ka, but the woman I spoke with made it clear that Augwynne is on her death bed," he said with a soft voice.

Tenel Ka closed her eyes again and exhaled loudly. She knew this was coming. Her great-grandmother was a very old woman, and her time had been running out recently, Tenel Ka's mother had said as much in her last communication. Still, that didn't make the pain of losing the woman that she had always admired, loved and looked up to any more bearable.

As Tenel Ka tried to reconcile the way of life with her grief, she realized that every second she was here was a second that she could not spend saying good-bye to her great-grandmother. She would have to leave immediately.

"I must go Master," she said respectfully to Luke, standing up from her plush chair and bowing towards the Jedi Master reverently.

Luke, standing as well, seemed to have expected this, for he only bowed in return and gave her a brave smile.

"Tenel Ka," he said loudly from behind her as she walked towards the door. She stopped and faced him, wonderingly, "Take someone to accompany you."

Tenel Ka considered for a moment. She hadn't planned to bring anyone with her, considering grief a private thing to be dealt with in solitude. Yet, when Luke mentioned the idea, it made sense. And whom would she bring? The answer was easy. There was no one who was a better friend, a sweeter or more thoughtful companion, or a person who understood her more completely.

Nodding, Tenel Ka replied, "I will ask Jacen to come with me."

And as she walked silently out of the room, she tried to wipe away the tears that were running down her face.

There were not many things that puzzled Jacen Solo. Yet Tenel Ka D'jo managed to confuse him, frustrate him, and intrigue him all at the same time.

It was a week after his family's vacation at Crystal Reef on Mon Calamari. Jacen had returned to do some work with Tionne and the younger students and Tenel Ka had returned because she wanted some time to think about the direction she wanted her life to take. Or at least that was what she had told him. Jacen had seen a lot of her lately, and they had walked along the roof of the Great Temple, mostly in contemplative silence, but occasionally discussing topics pertaining to the Jedi. Jacen had thought everything was going well between them.

That was until just a few minutes ago. Tenel Ka had been in Jacen's quarters, watching him feed his crystal rock snake and listening to him talk. Then Luke Skywalker had appeared at the door and requested to speak with Tenel Ka privately.

Now, as she walked into the room, Jacen sensed she was shielding her emotions carefully, but he knew she had been crying.

"What's wrong?" he asked bluntly, crossing the room to stand in front of her, trying desperately to make her meet his eyes.

Tenel Ka raised her head to look at him, and Jacen had to restrain himself from grabbing her and hugging her. Never had he known the warrior princess cry, much less have tears in her eyes. He immediately knew that whatever his uncle had said to her must have been some very devastating news indeed.

"My great-grandmother, Augwynne, is dying. I have to return to Dathomir quickly," Tenel Ka confided in a low tone, keeping her voice very quiet in an effort to contain emotion.

"Oh Tenel… " Jacen breathed. He knew that was one of the few relatives that Tenel Ka could stand, and nearly the only one she loved. This time, he did bring his arms up to hug her briefly, trying to bring her some comfort.

As he let go, trying not to be to intrusive, Tenel Ka smiled slightly, a small, reserved gesture that only moved the corners of her mouth, showing none of her teeth.

"I want you to come with me," she offered confidently, and Jacen sense her trying to rebuild the proud, tough warrior exterior that she carried in her heart.

He was taken aback for a moment, scarcely understanding this unexpected request of hers.

"Well, um, certainly, um, whenever you want to leave," he stammered, "I'll get my stuff ready."

"Excellent," Tenel Ka said, "I will see you by the _Rancor Tooth_ in ten minutes."

She turned abruptly and nearly out of the room, when she spun on her heel, saying, "And Jacen?"

Jacen, who had started towards his clothing storage unit, preparing to pack, turned back to face her, raising his eyebrow to acknowledge the question, "Hmm?"

A smile worked at Tenel Ka's mouth again, "Thank-you for your support."

Watching her retreat down the hallway, her warrior braids swinging rhythmically with her pace, a lop-sided grin lit Jacen's face.

_No problem_, he thought, and eagerly began packing.


	2. Dark Future

Awaiting her friend's arrival at the appointed meeting place, Tenel Ka sat in the pilot's chair of the _Rancor Tooth_, a new ship that her parents had presented her with upon the graduation ceremony a week ago. They insisted that she needed up to date ships with the most advanced weaponry and shielding to keep her safe in her travels as a Jedi Knight. This was partly because Tenel Ka was heir to the throne of the entire Hapes Consortium, but also because she was their only child, and in her own opinion, they were a bit overprotective.

Still, the_ Rancor Tooth_ was definitely impressive, with a sleek, isosceles triangle shape, with a dorsal fin near the back end that curved wickedly and housed a turbolaser cannon. The bottom had some belly guns and proton torpedo launchers, and on the top, near the cockpit were concussion missile launchers. The hyperdrive was Class One, and her sublight engines made quick takeoffs. 

As she finished up running preflight checks, Tenel Ka felt the presence of Jacen but she didn't turn around as he walked into the cockpit and slid into the co-pilot's seat.

"I just dropped off my luggage in the cabin. I grabbed the room on the left if you don't mind," he said casually, putting on a headset that attached to the communications unit and strapping himself into his seat.

Tenel Ka nodded, completing her last check, and followed his example.

"All set?" she asked, looking at him for acknowledgement.

Jacen gave a lopsided grin and replied, "As I'll ever be."

Tenel Ka smiled, because the effect of the trademark Solo grin could hardly have any less effect than to make her feel as if she'd just downed a glass of something with a high alcohol content.

Forcing herself to focus, Tenel Ka turned back to the controls and closed the boarding ramp. She initiated the repulsor lifts and gripped the control stick with her one good arm.

The _Rancor Tooth_ rose smoothly into the air and Tenel Ka guided it easily out into the open atmosphere, before igniting the sublight drives and bursting out of the moon's gravity well.

"Time to haul jet," she said, when all they could see was the vast darkness and emptiness of space, and they cruised speedily out of the Yavin system. She programmed the coordinates that Jacen brought up from the navi-computer and then punched the hyper-drive.

Both teenagers leaned back in their seats as the space around them converged into white starlines, and then the chaotic, shifting patterns of hyperspace.

"Next stop Hapes, then on to Dathomir," Jacen said cheerfully, taking off his headset, and Tenel Ka did the same. They were quite certain no trouble would befall them before they reached the hidden Hapes cluster.

Or so they thought.

At first, Tenel Ka wondered what they should do for the rest of the flight, nearly six standard hours in duration. She soon discovered, she didn't have to worry, Jacen could provide hours and hours of highly amusing entertainment by not trying to be entertaining at all.

"Alright, alright! Easy girl, don't bite now…" Jacen said trying to coax an injured female stintaril from a cage. The srin-tail had been the only pet he'd brought, as the animal had desperately required medical attention that Jacen wasn't going to trust to anyone else.

Tenel Ka sat in a chair at a table in the kitchen part of the ship, holding her one hand over her mouth in a failing attempt to keep from laughing, as Jacen doggedly tried to convince the animal out of the cage so he could tend to the deep scratch down one leg. 

The stintaril hissed, recoiling, and promptly bit down hard on Jacen's finger.

"OUCH!" Jacen yelled.

"Some of those are poisonous, are they not?" asked Tenel Ka innocently, as Jacen yelped and stuck his finger in his mouth, trying to relieve the pain.

Jacen shot her a death glare, sticking out his tongue as he took his finger out of his mouth and wrapped it in a bacta bandage from the med-kit.

"Actually this kind is usually pretty docile," Jacen explained, shrugging, and seeming somewhat at a loss. "The information I had on them said that they were playful and energetic. However, I've never really taken care of an injured one before."

"In that case, it's behaviour is probably because of the gash," Tenel Ka said, "Use the Force my friend, there are limits to your natural talents."

Jacen nodded and closed his eyes briefly before reaching into the cage once more, speaking softly in a soothing voice to the stintaril.

The stintaril appeared to relax, with it's tail hanging limply, it's eyes beginning to droop and it's body leaning towards his hand slightly. Jacen grinned slightly, his plan was working, and at that moment the stintaril snapped out of it's daze and went wild again, this time biting the skin between Jacen's thumb and first finger.

Jacen swore, quickly exiting his hand from the cage and shook it gingerly from the pain.

This time, Tenel Ka felt more sympathetic, and she got out disinfectant and another bacta bandage from the medkit. She reached across the table for Jacen's hand, and taking it in hers, she administered the disinfectant gently, rubbing it into the skin around the bite, and trying not to probe the wound itself.

She felt a flicker from Jacen in the Force, and when she looked up at him, he gaze, which had been focusing entirely on his hand and hers, abruptly shifted to a space on the wall.

How she was supposed to react, Tenel Ka didn't know. She decided the best path would be to ignore it, and figure the problem out later, so she carefully applied the bacta bandage and then gave him a small smile, to ease whatever awkwardness he imagined.

"Tenel," he said seriously, using a light nickname, and sat down in the chair beside hers, "When you came in to my room after talking with Luke, I got the sense that there was something else that was bothering you. It felt like you'd been badly shaken up."

Jacen paused for a moment, before adding with a lopsided grin, "And we both know it takes something pretty nasty to scare you."

Tenel Ka smiled, with a slight laugh, before she felt her face grow serious again. How was it that he could always tell what she was feeling? Why did he always know when something was bothering her, or not quite right in her life? They hadn't been like that when they had first met in the early days of the academy. He'd spent all his time making dumb jokes, trying to get her to laugh, trying to make her smile or see humour. She didn't know why he had singled her out of all the other students, maybe he had wanted a challenge, someone who he would have to work to earn a grin from. She supposed that close friends just became in tune to each other over time, and Jacen had shared some of the hardest parts of her life with her. The loss of her arm, the dealing with her Hapian grandmother, and all the life-threatening situations they'd been in over the years.

So now he was able to know things about her that even his uncle, a Jedi Master, undoubtedly one of the most powerful Jedi in the galaxy, did not see. Something was happening, something had been building for a long time, and soon it was all going to come together in one cataclysmic rush, that Tenel Ka was sure of.

She let out a sigh and then turned her chair so that she was facing him.

"I had a terrible premonition," she began, not knowing quite how to describe the horrible things she had seen and felt through the Force at the time of the vision, "… And it was awful Jacen, absolutely awful. I must be crazy. I saw these, well, I guess they were ships, because they moved like starfighters, like spaceships, but… they were shaped like asteroids. They looked like hunks of rock really."

Jacen looked perplexed, and his mouth was set in a thoughtful line as he considered her words. His eyes urged her to go on.

Tenel Ka paused, considering the effect of her next words, "I saw, or felt, something very wrong Jacen. Do you really want to hear it?"

Jacen nodded adamantly, "Absolutely."

Tenel Ka hesitated, "It may hurt you. It may cause you fear."

Jacen shrugged, "I don't think the future can hurt me. The future isn't set in stone, it can change."

Drawing a deep breath, Tenel Ka went on, "It wasn't so much the vision, but the feeling of despair and hopelessness. There was a dark dread. I… I saw Anakin, and he had blood on his face, and he was so pale, but so determined."

The next words were words that Tenel Ka would never want to hear, were she in Jacen's place. The magnitude and the importance of it was so foreboding, however, that she knew she shouldn't hold it back.

"Then there was Jaina. She had an angry, haunted look in her eyes, and something else. Revenge. I…" Tenel Ka, stopped, seeing the fear that passed over Jacen's face, and taking a breath, she moved on, "I saw her throwing Force lightning. White and purple bolts, straight from her finger tips. I nearly collapsed then. Your uncle thought I was in shock because of the news he gave me. He didn't realized that I'd had a premonition."

Jacen ran his fingers through his hair, not looking at her, and Tenel Ka regretted for a moment that she had told him. She almost wouldn't have, knowing how close he was to his sister, as a twin and as friends, except for that she could hardly believe anything like her vision could ever happen. The idea was unthinkable. Jaina? Cocky, good-spirited, even-tempered, stubborn as a nerf Jaina? She was the last person Tenel Ka saw ever going over to the Dark side.

"Jacen, my friend," Tenel Ka said, reaching out and touching his knee, "It won't happen. You won't let it happen."  
Jacen looked up from his intense, preoccupied study of the floor and looked hard into her cool grey eyes with his deep brown. He seemed to forget about everything else and just stared at her. Tenel Ka felt that he wasn't really looking at her, but trying to read the future, trying to sort out her vision, her thoughts and feelings, into a way that made sense to him. Then he blinked, and a wistful, genuine smile spread across his face.

"You're right," he said, nodding his head in agreement, "I would never let that happen."


	3. Interrupted Expedition

AN: Thanks for the reviews everyone! 

Now, just to clarify, this is a lead up to the very beginning of the NJO, but I won't do any NJO AU, or cross-over into that time line. This is just a little story that takes place in between the YJK series and Vector Prime. I'm writing this partly in defiance to the Jacen/Tahiri shippers, and partly because I need my daily dose of Jacen/Tenel Ka. I feel kind of bad about that scene actually, because I got stuck writing it when I didn't want to. This story was originally an idea where Augwynne died and Jacen and Tenel Ka get directly to Dathomir and then have to prevent a plot by a Nightsister to run the clan, you know, lots of Force lightning, dark side power flying around, etc.. However, I'm not really good at writing lightsaber battles, and I've always wanted a pirate story. So I was stuck with the premonition from the first chapter, but the premonition couldn't be about Tenel Ka confronting the dark side on Dathomir, so I had to change it. It's really just "filler" in a way, but I think that it's strange in the NJO that no one has a vision of the invasion before it happens, and it seemed plausible that Tenel Ka would foresee it. Anyway, here's the next chapter!

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Chapter Three- Interrupted Expedition

They'd been traveling through hyperspace for nearly three and half-hours when it happened. Jacen and Tenel Ka were sitting in the cockpit, in their respective seats and talking more about what they were planning to do after this trip was over.

"I'm not really sure about the direction the Jedi are taking anymore," Jacen was saying, "And now Luke's asked me to be his apprentice and obviously I'm going to accept. However, the speculation about rebuilding the Jedi Council and have the Jedi Knights officially sanctioned by the New Republic… I'm just not sure I like the idea."

Tenel Ka opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off as the _Rancor Tooth_ was abruptly jolted from hyperspace. There was a loud _boom_ and a fizzling sound, as if they had hit something large and hard and now components of their ship were short-circuiting.

"What the kriff?" Jacen cursed, grabbing the controls as Tenel Ka attempted to read the data scrolling across the screen in front of her, trying to figure out what had pulled them from hyperspace.

"We hit some kind of proximity mine, or a hyperspace mine," Tenel Ka hypothesized, fairly calmly under the circumstances, still trying to get the correct information from the erratic data readings and at the same time trying to strap herself into her seat. The ship was shaking violently and the lights in the cabin kept blinking on and off, with warning sirens and alarms sounding in the background.

"Hold on, I'll get us out of here!" Jacen shouted over the din, struggling with the controls, trying to steady the ship.

"We're being hailed!" Tenel Ka exclaimed, putting on the communications headset.

"Put 'em through!" replied Jacen immediately, desperately working to bring the _Rancor Tooth_ out of its dizzying, spinning dive.

"Ship _Rancor Tooth_," said a smooth, silky voice, with a note of amusement and a bit of malice in it, "We extend the warmest greetings towards you, whomever you may be. It seems you've stumbled upon the King Kanortine Buccaneers, the thieves of the Outer Rim. Pleasure to have you with us."

Tenel Ka and Jacen looked at each other with confused looks on their faces.

"Buccaneers?" Jacen repeated.

"King Kanortine?" Tenel Ka said at the same time.

"Weird," Jacen commented.

"At least the ship has stopped spinning," Tenel Ka noted.

"Right, that. What's wrong with it? Can we go to hyperspace?" Jacen questioned.

Tenel Ka pushed a few buttons, and then replied with frustration, "The drive has been knocked out by the hyperspace mines. Everything else still works, all our weapons and sub-light engines are fine."  
Jacen was about to tell her to just transfer all power to the sub-light engines and try to get far enough away to make repairs to the ship, but the sensors lit up then, showing a group of sleek starfighters closing right behind and to the sides of them.

"Sithspit, they've got us!" Jacen asserted, and Tenel Ka looked over to see the sensor screen, "What do you think we should do?"  
Instead of answering, Tenel Ka opened communications and said in a calm, cool voice, "Our ship isn't hostile towards you, where are you taking us and why?"

There was a short burst of static, then a gruff voice answered, "You got in, now you have to win your way out."

"Win what?" Jacen pressed, and Tenel Ka repeated the question over the comlink.

"Races," the voice said in an eager, but bloodthirsty tone, "Races for your lives. If you win, you go, if you lose… you die."


	4. King Kanortine

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Chapter Two: King Kanortine

Tenel Ka and Jacen had been "escorted" to a large, busy metropolis called Ruswin situated on a regular sized planet, with a temperate climate. Their ship was guided to a docking berth near the "palace" of King Kanortine. The "palace" wasn't really a palace but it was still a fairly elegant building, an enormous black sky-scraper that grew much narrower near the top, like a needle. The inside was like that of an upscale, fancy hotel, adorned with richly coloured carpets and pots of exotic plants, with walls composed of white and black-speckled marble, and many formally clad, sly-faced employees, all carrying their blasters loosely at their hips, that would opened doors for Jacen and Tenel Ka with mocking smiles.

"I'm beginning to think we should have tried to fight our way out of here when we had the chance," Jacen whispered out of the side of his mouth to Tenel Ka as they were marched through the palace flanked by heavily built armed guards.

Tenel Ka acknowledged him with a slight nod of her head, but she didn't reply. Jacen guessed that she must have been considering the same problems he was. Jacen wore his dark brown and tan Jedi robes, and Tenel Ka was wearing a completely black Jedi robe that stood in deep contrast to her fiery hair. Both had kept their lightsabers, knowing that the weapons would probably be useful, maybe even save their lives in the near future and for that matter, when did a Jedi ever leave behind her weapon? The security guards had let them keep them, assuming that Jacen and Tenel Ka would never be able to get out of the planetary system with their ship in such bad shape. So Tenel Ka and Jacen both looked like the young Jedi Knights they were, and Jacen was willing to bet that any person with half a brain would recognize at least one of them for who they were, a Hapian princess (and heir to the throne) and the oldest son of the New Republic's Chief of State. He wondered what the races the one pirate had mentioned would be like and if Tenel Ka and him would both have to take part, or only one of them. He wasn't really worried about his own safety, but he scolded himself for doubting Tenel Ka's safety. He knew she would hate that, she was a Dathomiri warrior, a stronger and more skilled fighter that he would ever be, even with her left arm severed at the elbow.

Still, he didn't think he would ever forgive himself if something happened to her.

At last the group reached a set of double-doors, carved with intricate, detailed flowers out of a deep red wood. Two arms guards stood on either side, with long sharp viroblades and lethal blasters at their sides. The baggy navy pants and the sleeveless red shirts that revealed bulging muscles and the metallic jewelry that adorned them reminded Jacen that these men were indeed buccaneers and they looked the part.

"These two are to meet with his Majesty," said one of the guards who had been escorting Jacen and Tenel Ka.

The door guards looked speculatively at them for a moment, before bowing slightly and opening the doors.

The room that the two Jedi stepped into wasn't the grand and opulent chamber they'd been expecting. Instead, the room was about the size of the large office Jacen's mother worked in as Chief of State. There were floor-to-ceiling windows in the wall facing the door, and the white stone of this room was pure white, with no black dotting the surface. Seated on a chair made of the same red wood as the door, with a hand lazily draped on top of the armrest, was a man that was undoubtedly more of a pirate than a king. He wore loose black pants and dark violet shirt made of a shimmering, soft fabric, not too mention a tasteful amount of jewelry. His skin, hair, and goatee were black, and one of his eyes was mechanical, silver metal with a red glowing iris.

When Tenel Ka and Jacen entered and moved to stand side by side in front of the throne, the man had stood, a clever smile unfurling across his face.

"I am Kanortine, king of pirates and thieves and buccaneers. I am very pleased that you are here, as you come at a most needed time," said Kanortine in a voice that was smooth and slippery, laced with deceit and cunning.

"And what, your Majesty, would that need be?" asked Jacen calmly and carefully.

The king's smile spread, showing his gold canine tooth, and a set of otherwise perfectly white teeth. Jacen got the feeling the gold tooth was for show.

"My "kingdom" of sorts, is a racing ground, a dangerous collection of speedways and delicately chosen battlegrounds. People, disreputable and underground mobs though they are, come from all areas of the galaxy to witness this spectacular gauntlet of races and battles, thrilling in the reckless, barbaric chaos of it all. Every week, there are new contestants that apply and are accepted to participate in this fun, and there must always be twelve applicants, always twelve, or else the contest is delayed until the appropriate number is filled. The first race was scheduled to begin today, however, it seems that one of my choices has had the misfortune of getting himself blown away in a blaster fight. So, you can imagine my predicament in looking to fill this position. What was I to do? Then, conveniently, you arrive in my system, two able young teenagers, and now, one of you will race." 

"Why do you want one of us to race?" Jacen asked, though he suspected he knew the answer, trying to bargain for their freedom, "Surely there are more capable contestants?"  
Kanortine smirked and his right hand stroked his goatee in a self-assured, arrogant manner. His eyes gleamed devilishly. His answer came in an insidious tone, "But why, I ask, would I want an average ruffian in my contest, when here I have two young Jedi Knights. The only question is, my unwilling guests, which of you will participate in the contest?"

Jacen opened his mouth to reply, but Kanortine cut him off, going on in his sly voice, "Actually, I think I have the answer to that question."

Jacen waited, his heart starting to beat faster with the anticipation that something unpleasant was about to be said.

"You, Jacen Solo," Kanortine said, pointing his finger at Jacen and grinning at his own brilliant deduction, "You will fly in the contest. Princess Tenel Ka Chume Ta' Djo will stay here with as my prisoner. You can take her back and leave this system freely when, and if, you win the contests."

Jacen's eyes widened, "All of the contests?"

Kanortine smiled in self-satisfaction, nodding, "Or else she will stay here with me."

Jacen swallowed nervously, _I wish Jaina were here. She'd win every single one of them without a hair out of place._

He looked to the side, seeing Tenel Ka's eyes narrowed dangerously at Kanortine. Even when she was angry, especially when she was angry, with her fine-boned face, cool grey eyes, and tanned brown skin, she looked beautiful to him. He knew she would probably insist that he not attempt the fatal races, insist that he go on and save himself, not to worry about her. She might even be angry with him for taking such a stupid risk. But there was no choice for him. He would rather die that let her come to harm. When everything was on the line and death was staring him in the face, he could always admit he loved her, he could admit that they were more than just friends. Somehow afterwards, they would always retreat back to the way things had been before, always afraid to take the plunge, never daring to bare their emotions. He told himself that if they survived this, things would be different. In the meantime, he would do anything to save her. He took a deep breath, firmly settling his direction in his mind.

"I'll do it," Jacen said in a solemn voice, looking straight ahead of himself, not seeing anything.

Beside him, he heard Tenel Ka cry out.


	5. Two Engines with a Seat

AN: Well, here's the next chapter up, and I just realized I forgot a disclaimer on the first chapter:

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Star Wars and this fanfic is not sanctioned by LFL or Del Rey or WotC. I only enjoy writing and reading about Star Wars and was inspired to write a fanfic. 

This fic is dedicated to JediJessie, Equinox, Rayni Shadowmusic, and ShelleyBelly! You guys rock! 

Jacen sat in the rough cock-pit of a pod-racer, thinking how appropriately this vehicle was called, "two engines with a seat." He remembered how his Uncle Luke had been a teenager on Tatooine, and stupidly been walking around Mos Eisley late one summer night. A crazy old spacer had grabbed his arm as he walked past saying, "You're Anakin Skywalker's kid aren't you?" When Luke had nodded, the spacer had muttered, "The kid was the best pod-racer… Won the Boonta Eve… I bet on Sebulba… lost everything…" and moved on.

Now, as Jacen sat in a simple pod-racer, with starfighter engines roaring, holding on to his cockpit with only two energy cables, ready to catapult him down the race track, Jacen hoped that his grandfather's skills might have been passed down through the family. Jacen wished again that Jaina was here, knowing that she would breeze through something like this, loving every second of it. Jaina was an incredible pilot. Jacen was just mediocre.

He snapped out of his lamentations as he heard the sound to the Ryn announcer come over the long distance comspeaker, translating in Huttese, Rodian, Ithorian and countless other languages. He concentrated on the Basic.

"Guests of King Kanortine! Denizens of countless planets! Rabble of the Outer Rim! You are all here today to witness the skills of such superior pilots as can hardly be found elsewhere! We've resurrected one of the fastest, most demanding and _deadliest_ sports in history, gladiators not included! But then, we'll have time for that later, won't we?"

Jacen groaned, as the screaming, shouting, and cheering of the crowd increased in volume at the joke. At least he knew another of the upcoming contests now.

_Stow it Jacen, _he reprimanded himself,_ Concentrate on what has to been done now._

He heard the announcer giving the names of all the contestants. His was the last called: "And lastly we have Jacen Solo, our first Jedi contestant in the history of the gauntlet."

Jacen tried to smile and gave what he hoped to be a cocky wave to the holorecorders. Having some crowd support couldn't hurt. He briefly wondered if Tenel Ka had been allowed to watch. She had been dragged out of Kanortine's throne room, fighting and screaming, as the King outlined the first race.

_They're probably making her watch it, hoping she'll have to watch me die,_ thought Jacen bitterly.

Trying to banish such negative thoughts from his head, Jacen concentrated on the five second countdown timer. A good start would be essential in winning this race, a hellish course through the valleys of a mountain range, between trees with trunks twenty meters in diameter, and through icy crevasses only a meter in width. There was only one lap. Most of the contestants died, and left no one to finish if the race was two or three laps.

Jacen closed his eyes.

The computer automated voice was entirely too calm.

_Five..._

There is no emotion…

_Four…_

There is no passion…  
_Three…_

There is no death…

_Two_…

There is only the Force.

_One…_

WHOOSH!!!

Releasing the brakes, Jacen shoved the double grip control-stick forward, propelling the craft forward down the track at nearly 625 kilometers on hour. He had Jedi reflexes, but he was only human, and no great pilot either, so as the racers hit the first stretch, six others were ahead of him.

There was suddenly a sharp left turn and Jacen hugged the inside rock-face, scraping it so closely he could have reached out and touched the dark black stone. Two other contestants were not so daring, and Jacen past them on the left side.

Expletives and insults were hurled at him as he pushed the controls forward just a little more, trying to get a lead on the next racer.

Faster, so much faster, the pod racer roared and the distance fell away behind him, and Jacen bit back the sudden feeling of panic as he nearly lost control.

The track suddenly twisted like some homicidal waterslide architect had designed it, right left, right, right, and left again, the world around him blurred completely, slipping into one mess of black rock and engine exhaust.

The twisting ended without warning and Jacen had to swerve hard to the right to avoid smashing into tiny flaming bits on a giant tree twenty meters in width. Holding back nausea, Jacen's head lolled to the side for a split-second, his eyes rolling upwards as he nearly lost consciousness from the press of gravity.

_I can't black-out, I can't black-out, I must not black-out!_ He screamed to himself, willing himself to hold on to awareness, to life.

Just in time, he recovered, only to see another massive tree in front of him.

_Left!!!_ Instinct screamed to him, and he wrenched the controls in that direction. The pod missed the tree by mere centimeters.

_Focus Jacen, focus!_ He reprimand sternly, _The Force, use the Force!_

Somewhere in the back of his brain that wasn't screaming in fear and terror he knew that he had to get a grip. He knew that he had started out just fine, and he had lost his cool in one moment of adrenaline charged stupidity. He fought to reassert his calm and use the Force to anticipate the course and the changing terrain. He flew better almost immediately, ducking deftly between the next group of trees.

He heard the whine and the _chug, chug, chug_ of the pod-racer he'd just recently passed behind him and he slowed his breathing, trying to concentrate on the next racer instead of the growing problem.

Out of nowhere, an overwhelming sense of love and calm filled him, coursing through him with the Force, flowing over him, warming him, soothing him. His breath caught in his chest at the sensation, hardly believing.

_Tenel Ka, _he thought serenely, relishing in her gift.

Filled with a new determination, Jacen willed the pod to move faster, pushing the starfighter engines to their limits, leaning his entire body forward in the seat as if it would push the vehicle farther forward. Closer, closer, and closer still, he closed on the next pod. As the racers broke the trees, Jacen passed the fourth racer.

_Eight down_, _three to go_.

The next parts of the race were tricky. There were tight, suffocating corridors of stone that he had to turn up on his side to squeeze through, combined with rocky valley paths that twisted and turned and convoluted, leaving him gasping for air in at every close call. But the memory of that deep, glowing peace remained with him and he delved deeper into the Force for strength and stamina.

Coming to a flat, open leg of the race, formed by some ancient glacier, Jacen got the chance to catch his breath and throttled the engine again, trying to catch up to the two leaders, who had pulled out some distance before him.

Up ahead, he saw the narrow entrance to a cave in the mountain side, and the two other racers had pulled in, just as he caught up to them.

When the two racers had entered, one had gone to the left, and the other to the right, leaving a space in the middle. It was into this space that Jacen roared, his determination driving him faster and harder than any being could stand against.

Jacen could see the light at the other opening of the cave, but it was blocked by two very large pillars, pillars that were right in his path.

Fighting the sense of doom that swooped down on him, Jacen glanced quickly to either side, but he was wedged in between Bilus Magoda of Sullust on the left and Naulbas the Dug with the quadruple engines on the left.

He was trapped.

There was no way he could move to either side and avoid the pillars unless one of the racers were elminated, or he could get his inferior podracer to outpace them. There was no chance of either, unless…

Jacen retreated into himself, drowning down through the layers of sub-consciousness, spiraling down to his innermost core, where the fiber, the stuff heroes were made up of, lay. Every ounce of will, every bit of power he held with his still inexperienced control of the Force, he channeled in his most crucial moment to the engines in front of him.

His heart nearly came up his throat as the pod gave a gigantic leap forward. Yanking the controls to the right, he cut in front of Naulbus and exited the cave just in time, zooming out into the light, in first place.

Bilus, who had been putting too much pressure on the side of Jacen's pod, slipped wildly to the right, smashing into the pillars that he had been trying to push Jacen into. His engines and then his pod erupted into a ferocious fiery explosion.

Naulbus's luck was not any better. Two of his engines hit the side of the cave as he jinked to avoid Jacen, causing a second explosion. Then, as his pod went spinning crazily towards the left, with only one side of the pod holding on by energy cables as he went careening into the pillars, causing a third explosion.

Tenel Ka watched in horror as the spectacle played out on the view screen in front of her. She saw Jacen and two other racers enter the cave. Her heart stopped and she nearly cried out in rage and anguish as she saw three explosions occur in the cave.

_Jacen!_ Her mind screamed.

But there was nothing in the Force, no sign to indicate the death of a Jedi, the brilliance and the fire that was released when a Force-adept leaves this life.

Tenel Ka held her breath, her entire body completely still.

Then she slumped back in her chair in relief as she saw Jacen's pod-racer come roaring out of the smoke and fire.

The last bit of the race was long and open. At the moment, the finish line looked as good as anything he'd ever seen to Jacen. He didn't slow down at all until he had passed the barrier and he was sure he had won. He had won.

He had expected to feel incredible, or at least take some kind of joy in the fact that he had accomplished a feat that would have been hard for even his famous father to achieve. He felt none of this. The only concern in his mind was to get back to Kanortine, and therefore Tenel Ka, as soon as possible.

He said so to the pirates that had brought him to the race-track. They nodded and opened the speeder. Jacen jumped in.

On the way back to Ruswin, Jacen straightened his robes slightly and brushed some of the dust away from his face, where it was almost cemented on. One of the pirates threw him a water bottle and Jacen took a deep, long drink from it, glad for the coolness running down his throat. He poured the other half over his head, soaking his hair and washing the dirt from his face.

The pirates could barely keep up as Jacen marched forward into the palace and stormed up to the top floor, where he knew Kanortine would be.

Without waiting for an invitation, Jacen ripped the weapons from the door-guards with a gesture and flung the doors open with a hand movement.

"I've finished your little race Kanortine," Jacen said with an ice-like voice, "Now I want to see Tenel Ka."

Kanortine, who had been placidly looking out his window at the skyline, twirled elegantly around to face Jacen, a smile on his face. He motioned for the guards, who had retrieved their weapons and were standing angrily behind Jacen, to leave the room, and they did so, closing the doors.

"What makes you think, young Jedi," said Kanortine coyly, walking swiftly forward so his face was centimeters from Jacen's, "That I would allow you that privilege."

Jacen's eyes narrowed, "I want to make sure she's alive and unhurt, or else I won't race again."

"You'll race again whether you like it or not Jacen Solo," Kanortine mocked.

Without conscious thought, Jacen's hands had flown up and wrapped around the king's neck. Matched for size and height, Kanortine was not in a good position.

A cold, killer emotion ran through Jacen like ice-water. His eyes were frozen and his breath was low and furious, barely contained, "Let me see her now or I swear I'll kill you where you stand."

Kanortine's face remained impassive, though Jacen could feel a tremor of fear at the promised death in the Jedi's voice. Calmly, Kanortine replied, "Fine. No need to get angry. I'll have her brought up at once."

Jacen released his grip on the older man's neck, backing away from him and folding his arms across his chest in a menacing gesture. In a voice edged with steel, he said, "Make it quick."

As Kanortine left the room for a moment to inform the guards, Jacen heaved a sigh and sunk into one of the chairs in front of Kanortine's throne, tired from the race and the adrenaline leaving his blood vessels. He knew he had just lashed out in anger, and anger was of the dark side. He had never done that in other, similar situations. It showed him the depth of his caring for Tenel Ka, and it scared him.

Kanortine returned almost immediately with Tenel Ka walking angrily beside him. The doors opened and Kanortine said in a snide tone, "You have fifteen minutes," before closing the doors with a slam.

Jacen ran to Tenel Ka and she threw her arm around his neck as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Hugging her fiercely he brought his hand up to her head, smoothing the warrior braids, rocking slightly back and forth.

She lifted her face up to look into his eyes, and brought her hand around to touch his cheek, making sure that he was really alive and well.

"I thought you were going to die," she said softly, her eyes wide and relieved.

"Your confidence in me is astounding," Jacen grinned, not releasing his hold on her.

"Are you ever serious?" she said, her tone solemn and grave, not appreciating the joke.

Jacen's smile vanished, and he tilted his head forward, resting it on her shoulder. She had used to be taller than he, but he had grown a lot and she had stayed the same height, so their eyes were level with each other.

"I was serious a few minutes ago when I threatened Kanortine's life if he didn't let me see you," he whispered in her ear.

He felt her shiver, and he leaned back again, looking into her eyes.

"I was scared that I would never see you again," he said quietly, "I was scared I wouldn't live to do this…"

Then he brought his head forward and kissed her, forceful and hard, expressing all the relief he felt at being alive to do this, all his gratitude for her help during the race, and all the emotions that he kept hidden from others.

He expected her to be surprised, maybe even pull away from him and hide her feelings as she so often did, but Jacen realized that she was kissing him back, nearly as strongly as he was her.

"Jacen," she said breathlessly, pulling away, "What about survelliance? What if..?"  
He stopped her protests by kissing her again, more slowly and less innocently than before.

She relaxed for a moment, losing herself, then she pulled away, whispering, "But if they realize that there's something going on, then they will use that against us."

Jacen knew she was right, yet his heart was telling him differently. Still clutching her, he murmured in her ear repeatedly, "I don't care, I don't care. You're all I care about."  
Tenel Ka sighed and kissed his cheek, snaking her good arm around his neck.

"I know, but we must stop," she admitted reluctantly.

Jacen kissed her one more time, lingeringly, then stood back, and sat back on one of the couches, pulling her with him.

"I have five contests left. Two tomorrow, two the day after that, then the final one on the third day. My question is, can we afford to wait that long in getting to Dathomir?" Jacen asked solemnly.

Tenel Ka considered, and Jacen knew she was thinking about Augwynne's message, the demands on her time. Finally she answered, "I think we can manage to risk it. I just wish that Kanortine would let me race as well."

"I know you do," Jacen said with a slight smile, "But he won't allow it. He wants you as some sort of exotic prize until I can win the races."

Suddenly a dark thought passed through Jacen's head and he was instantly, lethally serious.

"They haven't made advances towards you have they? Assaulted you in any manner?" he pressed, his voice dangerous and deadly. His fists clenched till his knuckles turned white.

"No," answered Tenel Ka calmly, taking one of his hands gently in hers, trying to reassure him, "Don't worry Jacen. I know how to take care of myself. I can deal with Kanortine and his pirates."

Jacen nodded, because to protest would be insulting to her, and looked at his chrono.

"Sithspawn, only two minutes left," he cursed, "Was there anything else?"

A mischievous glint appeared in Tenel Ka's eyes, and she smirked.

"Yes," she murmured, leaning forward, "Quick, kiss me again."

Smiling, Jacen complied.


	6. Gladiator

Hours later, after a meal and some time in the sonic shower, Tenel Ka lay clean and clothed in her Jedi robes on a bed in a room Kanortine had provided. Tenel Ka had expected a prison cell, but she'd been given one of the rooms in the palace, though there were guard droids outside the door and cameras watching his every move.

Tenel Ka got up and opened one of the room's windows. She stood in front of it with her hands on the sill, feeling the soft night breeze whisper through her hair and stroke her face. She gazed out on the surrounding lands for a speculative moment, observing the stillness and the quiet. It was one of those beautiful nights, where not a cloud obstructed the dazzling stars and the entire galaxy seemed quiet, and at rest. It wasn't, of course, especially on a pirate's planet, but it was the kind of night that gave the illusion that everything was peaceful.

With a sigh, Tenel Ka turned from the window and flopped back onto the bed. She had already considered whether or not she could escape. Doubtless she could, even with the weapons and security, but she didn't know if she could get Jacen out as well, whether he was in a real prison cell or if Kanortine would execute him if she disappeared and either way, she wasn't leaving without him. Maybe they should have used the time they'd had together to plan a coordinated escape.

Tenel Ka blushed. He had certainly made interesting use of that time, and he didn't seem to regret it one bit. Well, neither did she. Besides, they couldn't have planned an escape with the surveillance cameras observing them. Tenel Ka figured that Kanortine had probably watched what had happened and now guessed more about the nature of her and Jacen's relationship than before that meeting. Kanortine knew he had Jacen neatly trapped, he wouldn't back down from the races because of the loyalty and righteousness he possessed, and he couldn't escape because he wouldn't leave without her.

Tenel Ka sighed, partly out of frustration with her captivity and partly because she was remembering all the raw feeling she had sensed in Jacen when he had kissed her. Oh, she knew that probably hadn't been the wisest of moves, but somehow it didn't matter. She loved the way it had felt, and it was something entirely different to her. Tenel Ka was a person who hid her emotions, not giving anything away, and Jacen had just bared his feelings with unrestrained action. It gave her an entirely new perspective.

She gave another sigh, this time softly and with more contemplation, as she rolled back the covers on the bed and snuggled underneath, then rested her head on the pillow. Different night clothes would have been optimal, but hers were on the _Rancor Tooth_ and she wasn't about to accept the ones Kanortine offered, which were considerably less conservative. She relaxed herself with a Jedi calming technique and in a few minutes, was sound asleep.

Jacen was dressed in full body titanium armor. It covered his shins, calves, thighs, pelvis area, stomach, chest and arms. He even had a helmet, which at the moment was interfering with his vision somewhat. At both hips, he carried a wide, thick vibro-blade, and on the right side he carried a blastsword. There was a primitive double-sided axe strapped to his back. He'd been given a bowcaster, with directions not to shoot it at human opponents, or he would be disqualified. Whatever that meant. Jacen didn't think rules would count for much once he'd gotten into… whatever it was he was getting into. 

The door in front of Jacen was made of huge wooden timbers, held with chains the thickness of his body, set into a hard wall of gray stone cemented together with duracrete. Jacen could hear the sound of people shouting and stomping their feet on wood, an eerie, menacing noise, and he could feel the anticipation, the greediness of the crowd. People were still wagering, last minute statistics were coming in, and there was a cruel anxiousness for blood and fighting. 

It all struck Jacen as being very barbaric.

The weather had changed from the past night. Whereas yesterday the sky had been clear, without a trace or a wisp of cloud, today was overcast and gray, with a slight drizzle that came whenever the wind blew north. The sound of thunder rumbled not so far in the distance, where lightning danced across the sky. Jacen knew that the storm would be upon him in only a matter of minutes.

The chains holding the doors closed started clanking and groaning, telling him the doors would be opening soon, and he would have to face whatever was in there. The fact that he'd been given a blastsword was encouraging. Racing wasn't a strong point, but he was talented with swords.

The enormous wooden double-doors creaked heavily open and a pirate standing behind Jacen nudged him, none too gently, with a spiked club, signalling him to enter the arena.

Cautious and wary, Jacen did so, taking time to note the details of his surroundings. The disgusting dirt floor, the largeness of the oval-shaped arena, the lack of any cover or pillars to hide behind, and most of all, the gigantic doors positioned strategically all around the twenty meter high wall.

Jacen crossed a third of the distance of the arena, ignoring the swell of booing and cheering from the ecstatic crowd, and the foul smell which seemed to dominate the edifice.

The announcer, the same one from the pod-race the day before, was seated on Jacen's right-side in the center of the bleachers and benches.

"Now pay your respects, though I know you have little, to his majesty, King Kanortine!" the Ryn was shouting.

The mob was on their feet now, craning their necks and holding their fists up in veneration as Kanortine entered from a violet carpeted staircase on the top of the left side of the arena. He looked exceedingly handsome and dashing, as always, in a red cape with a tight-fitting black shirt, black pants, and jewels adorning his features. Then Jacen gasped as he saw the person that came stalking angrily behind him. Her face was impassive as usual, but Jacen could tell by her body-language, and the anger rolling off her in the Force, that she was not pleased with this arrangement. Yet it wasn't her anger that Jacen noticed first.

"And to Tenel Ka Chume Ta' Djo, guest of the King and heir to the Hapan throne," the Ryn continued.

Tenel Ka was dressed in an incredible gown of a shimmering red, gold, orange and yellow fabric that, combined with the magnificent shade of her hair, made her look like she was on fire. Rubies glinted from around her neck, all over the gown and even in her hair, which had been loosed from its regular style to cascade down to her mid-back, glossy and smooth like a liquid sunset. Small diamonds and bits of gold were worked into the make-up around her eyes, and everything about her spoke of royalty and exceptional lineage. She was stunning, heart-stopping, beautiful beyond belief.

Then her eyes met Jacen and he saw her pride, her defiance at being paraded about like Kanortine's little toy, and he saw the anxiousness for him.

"I love you Princess," he whispered solemnly under his breath, his lips barely moving.

A small, barely perceptible smile touched her mouth. She slowly raised two fingers to her lips and then pointed them towards him. Jacen winked at her then bowed stiffly to Kanortine, as he, Tenel Ka and a few of his bodyguards and cronies seated themselves under a pavillion.

"Today," began the announcer, Jacen thought his name was Romany, "we bring the gory, bloody, ancient gladiator battles of Genosia! The arenas on Genosia were later used for executions, but we'll probably see some of both here today!"

_This looks better every minute_, thought Jacen sarcastically and braced himself.

"I give you… Jedi Jacen Solo!" the words rolled off Romany's tongue in a rising crescendo to be heard over the roaring crowd.

Jacen raised both his arms up in the air, his fists clenched tightly and the crowd screamed louder.

Despite himself, he smiled. Adoration was such an ego booster. Then he remembered that half of them were probably cheering for him to die.

_Now that's a pleasant thought._

As he lowered his arms, two of the gates in front of him, one slightly to the right and the other to the left, slowly clanked open.. The moment was upon him and he was nervous. He didn't want to die.

He closed his eyes instead, and remembered the look on Tenel Ka's face when she had beat him in a swimming contest with only one arm. The gates were open now, but all he could see was a yawning blackness. With the Force, he could sense ravenous hunger, aggression, and a deep violence. He heard a sound that sent a chill up his spine and made his blood run cold.

Battle-dogs. Nek battle dogs. Starving, savage, vicious nek battle dogs that were bred on Cyborrea and sold only on the black market. There most have been twenty-five of them.

Like a torrent of vile water, the predators streamed out of the gates, each of them fifty pounds of pure sinew, claws and teeth. Jacen grabbed the bowcaster and started firing, shooting ten of them in a row as them came out of the right gate.

_That should slow the ones behind them down a bit_.

But while Jacen had been busy on the right, the dogs from the left gate had been running full-speed towards him, and were fast closing the distance.

"Sithspit," he cursed, dropping the bowcaster and reaching for the double-sided axe. He had used one of these once at a heritage fair. It wasn't to heavy, but it wasn't light either, and for a split-second, Jacen wished he had reached for the vibro-blades instead.

But there was no time for second guesses. The neks were on him, and they would die by either one.

The armor protected Jacen from the first round of attacks, but then the dogs realized that he was protected there and tried to go for the unprotected neck and collarbone area.

Jacen was like a madman and everything took on a red haze. The axe in his hand was a blur of twirling motion. Jacen was spinning it around his hand like a baton, and each time it made a rotation, one of the blades cut through the neck of a battle-dog that had leaped toward him. And every time, a spray of bright red blood flew in all directions, getting on his hands, splattering in droplets on his face, and soaking the dirt a dark, gruesome colour.

Sweat was running down his neck and from his forehead into his eyes, as Jacen spun backwards and forewards, trying to stop the assaults coming from every direction. His legs would begin to ache soon from the quick, tiny steps that were adjusting his direction, giving him the right speed, the correctly timed thrust, the most precise aim.

Jacen thought desperately for a plan. The neks were coming too many, too quickly now, and if he didn't work his way out of it soon, he would falter, and then die.

He was only using his right hand for the axe, and Jacen rapidly surmised that not using the left-hand was a waste that would get him killed. He grabbed a vibro-blade, swinging it in a smooth circle, cutting away some more opposition.

Without warning, there was a suddenly release of weight on his left shoulder, then a hideous, wrenching pain.

A nek had pulled off the piece of armor covering that shoulder, and another had dug a hateful, wickedly curved claw down his unprotected skin, slicing the skin.

Jacen cried out in pain, but his kept his grip on the vibro-blade. He couldn't afford to lose a weapon. Spinning around, he caught the nek who had wounded him with a short, powerful jab to the heart, pulled it out, spun and sliced the head off another as he swung the blade around with him. At the same time, the axe cut down onto the back off a nek, chopping the spinal cord in half.

There were none left.

He had killed them, or seriously wounded them enough that they wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. He had survived. He wanted to collapse in the middle of the arena and just lay there. The rain and storm that had been building for the past half hour finally let loose, pouring water down around him, soaking his hair, and the long-sleeved white shirt he wore underneath the armor.

Jacen raised his arms again, but the crowd was deathly silent. No one seemed to breathe, and only the thunder and lightning offered any applause.

Jacen's face twisted in a grimace of pain. His shoulder was bleeding profusely, and he could barely hold the weight of the vibroblade. He staggered toward the center of the arena.

He hated himself. The neks had wanted to kill him, he knew that. But they had been beaten and starved and bred into violence. They harboured no evil intentions towards him, they had only been trying to survive, trying to feed themselves. And he had slaughtered them all.

Throwing down the weapons he held in disgust and self-loathing, Jacen turned his back on the gates the neks had come out of, not giving a thought to the silence of the crowd. Here was his mistake. Had he reached out in the Force he would have sensed that the crowd was not in a state of shock, but anticipation.

As he walked slowly towards the gate by which he'd entered, the sound of clanking chains from behind him stopped him dead. A sickening feeling washed through him, and his stomach twisted inside of him. Slowly, fearfully, Jacen turned around again.

A gate at the very opposite end of the arena from where he had entered was three-quarters of the way open. Then it was all the way open, and six pairs of glowing yellow eyes blinked in the gloom, predatory and cat-like.

A low growl escape from the throat of one, and five others joined in the call, a sound that reverberated in and around Jacen, filling his mind, making the sound of his blood seemed to beat, _"doom, doom, doom, doom…" _ The rain coursing down his body, face, and hair and the boom of thunder seemed to echo the growl of the creatures as they walked out of the den. They stood nearly a meter high at the shoulder, burly quardruped cat-like mammals, with skin that looked like nerf hide that had gone old and wrinkled, large jaw filled with dagger-like teeth and even larger claws on all four feet. There was a line of hard spikes on their backs.

Swallowing, Jacen reached out with the Force, about to call his weapons back to him, when a wild animal cry screeched through the air and the earth beneath him quaked perceptibly.

Out of the two gates where the neks had been came two creatures Jacen knew very well.

Rontos were from Tatooine, a four-legged beast of burden, used for transportation or hauling goods. Most were only twice the size a grown man, about 12 to 13feet, but these creatures, coming out like some prehistoric monster were unlike any ronto Jacen had ever seen. They stood twenty feet high, and were encased by body armour, the same as Jacen was. It covered their chest, sides, head and neck, except the difference here was that the armour was spiked.

Jacen was paralyzed. How was he ever going to win this?  
The ways and the will of the Force are strange, but one thing was for certain, that day, the Force was with Jacen. As one of the ronto came powering out of the left gate, the body armour it was wearing proved a convenient conductor for electricity.

_CRASH!!! _

The lightning flashed out of the sky, striking the ronto, the electricity streaming through it's body into the ground.

Jacen watched in horror as the creature fell to the ground, lifeless.

As bad as he felt, he quickly saw a way to take advantage of the situation. Calling the Force to him and gathering all his remaining strength, Jacen projected one thought to the massiffs.

_The ronto makes more food than I do, the ronto makes more food than I do,_ he bombarded their thoughts, giving them images of them feasting on the dead ronto and then curling up for a contented nap.

He held his breath, but the massiffs did as he hoped and ran towards the ronto, mouths open and saliva running out.

They had already started on the poor thing's legs, as Jacen turned around to deal with the last ronto. Jacen didn't want to end up like it's brother, charred and burnt by lightning, so he removed the helmet and the chest armour. Jacen would take his chances with what he could control, and the weather wasn't one of those things.

Jacen looked wildly around for some tool to break through the creatures incredible armour, knowing that his vibro-blades, blastsword, and axe would be useless.

Near the pile of dead neks, Jacen saw his cast-off bowcaster, lying in workable condition.

That could definitely help.

Jacen called it to him and took careful aim. It he didn't flinch, he could get the weak point where the chest armour met the side armour.

The plan worked better than he thought it would.

The shot from the bowcaster hit the material that attached the two plates and when it hit, the chest plate came loose from it's strapping and swung out to the side.

_Now_ he could use the vibro-blade. Clenching it, Jacen sprinted towards the panicking, skittish ronto, who reared, it's front feet coming up and kicking in the air, then hitting the ground with a force hard enough to shake the ground Jacen stood on.

With regret in his heart, Jacen stepped up and plunged the blade into the beast's heart, then jumped back out of the way as the great behemoth fell forward and hit the ground with a terrible _THUMP_!!

The crowd cheered in congratulations and appreciation of entertainment, Jacen lifted his right hand to them. His left shoulder was a deep throbbing pain.

Jacen's legs ached and his arms were even worse. Convincing the massiffs had taken a lot of effort through the Force, and he was so tired.

He stumbled towards the door, stopping to pick up the axe and his vibro-blade that he had flung down earlier. 

Jacen was finished then, in his mind and in his body, but as he approached the exit, another door opened near it. From it strode three men, all looking equally tough and intimidating in their stylized armour with fearsome animals carved into it, curved vibro-blades, electro-jabbers, and neuronic whips. They arranged themselves in a loose triangle formation, with two standing closer to Jacen and the other slightly back.

Jacen groaned in frustration, wondering if he was ever going to get out of here.

He decided he didn't want this fight. He just wanted to end it quickly and easily. He hefted the vibro-blade with his good arm, then gave the weapon a mighty swing and then realeased it.

It spun rapidly through the air, making wide circles, a blur of metallic movement. It cut a circle infront of Jacen.

Using the Force, the blade moved to unbelievably fast for any of the men to move out of the way. It was like some psychotic boomerang with a life of it's own, and it spun through the air, slicing of the heads of all three men and landing at Jacen's feet, 

The effort had been too much. As his opponents were all taken care of, Jacen dropped to the ground, too tired and exhausted to make his way to the door. The roaring and cheering of the crowd that had dominated his hearing for the past hour was fading into a numb background noise. The rain was still pouring down, turning the earth underneath him to mud.

As he stared up at the sky, lying on his back, a beautiful face suddenly appeared above him.

"Jacen? Jacen can you hear me?" she questioned in a worried voice, "Oh please Jacen say something! Are you okay?"

Jacen was delirious, or at least that's what the part of his brain that wasn't suffering from the trauma of what he'd just accomplished was telling him. He could feel a gash in his cheek from where a nek's claw had glanced off him.

But Tenel Ka's cheek was smooth and untouched. Her faced was close above his and her forehead was creased in worry. With an effort, Jacen raised his right hand up and touched her face, rubbing his thumb along her cheekbone. Her cool grey eyes were all that was keeping him anchored to consciousness.

He tried to raise his arm a little more, trying to bring it around the back of her neck and bring her closer, but as he did, he raised his shoulder too much. A stab of blinding pain racked his body and he cried out in pain and dropped his hand wincing.

"Jacen! Jacen, hold on! They're going to bring a medical team in, just hold on a few more seconds!" Tenel Ka urged, rubbing his chest in a circular motion her hand, bringing it up to rest underneath his neck. She gently kissed his cheek and forehead.

Jacen tried to tell her that he would be okay, that she shouldn't worry, but it only came out as an incomprehensible mumble, and that made her more worried. Jacen could feel her taking a deep breath to get herself under control.

"Come on, stay with me now," she said soothingly, stroking his cheek.

Jacen wanted to. He wanted nothing more than to merely look into her eyes for awhile longer, but he'd lost too much blood and he was sinking into blackness. The world around him seemed to be shifting and swirling before him, and he could no longer see Tenel Ka, just a haze of grays and reds and browns. He struggled to hold on, but his eyes closed and he lost consciousness.


	7. Recovery

Just as the last sight Jacen perceived before his eyes closed had been Tenel Ka, his eyes opened to see her hovering over him, a concerned look on her face. He yawned and stretched, a little, noting that there was no longer any pain in his shoulder. Relief relaxed the firm, tense line Tenel Ka's lips had formed. She sighed and sat down on the bed beside him. She was now back in her black Jedi robes, but her hair hadn't been braided yet.

"How are you feeling?" she asked quietly, resting her hand on her arm.

"Like hell," Jacen smiled, grinning for her benefit.

Tenel Ka smiled too, "It's good that you can joke now, because you could have died. Kanortine expected you too, everyone did. I nearly killed him."

Jacen frowned, "What to you mean? They expected me to die?"

Tenel Ka looked at him, puzzled, her mouth slightly open and her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Jacen, every other contestant that went in there only had to face another person. Kanortine was saying how he wanted to make it even, since you were a Jedi. I thought you had gone in there expecting only one person," Tenel Ka explained.

Jacen sat up straight in bed, suddenly feeling very much awake. He pulled the sheets up as he realized that he wasn't wearing a shirt.

"But I went in there without knowing anything about what I would face. They just said it was a gladiator fight and stocked me up with weapons. I thought everyone had the same thing," Jacen protested.

Tenel Ka's eyes had fire in them, and her mouth was set in an angry line.

"That… that… " she muttered a phrase in Dathomiri, her hand clenching and unclenching.

"Hey," said Jacen, raising his arms and taking her shoulders, "I survived didn't I? I lived through it and that's what matters."

He paused for a moment, then he hung his head and dropped his arms.

"I feel horrible Tenel Ka. I had to kill so many animals and creatures today. I can't believe that the pirates would starve them and beat them just so that they would be angry and eager to kill me. It's cruel," he stated mournfully.

Tenel Ka leaned over and looked deep into his eyes, studying him. She softly said, "You don't have to do this for me you know. I can find some other way to get out of here without you nearly killing yourself. They took away my lightsaber and yours, but we've gotten out of tighter spots. You don't have to do this Jacen."

"Yes I do," he argued.

"Why?" she asked, with her face only centimeters from his and her breath hitting his cheek.

"Because it's you," Jacen whispered, then abruptly leaned forward and kissed her, cutting off any further arguments. He reached one hand behind her head and wrapped the other around her back, pulling her closer. Just the way she responded, opening her mouth slightly, sliding her arm around his neck, sent tiny shivers up his spine and he tightened his hold automatically, unwilling to let her go. All the trials he went through, he would face them for her, because of loyalty to the friendship he had sworn to her at the beginning of the academy days, and because of the dizzy and light-headed way she made him feel lately. Like a true witch of Dathomir, she exerted some kind of tantalizing magic over him, and he wondered how long she'd been weaving this spell. Maybe it was that time they'd gone to Hapes after Tenel Ka had lost her arm, or the time they'd been captured by the Diversity Alliance and had escaped together over the freezing blizzard side of Ryloth's landscape. He respected her, admired her, and at some time he hadn't realized or noticed, he'd fallen in love with her.

He moaned slightly as Tenel Ka shifted from kissing his mouth to trailing tiny, delicate kisses down his neck and she immediately backed off, sitting up with a startled expression on her face as if she hardly expected to find herself in this position.

"Jacen? Are you okay? Am I hurting you? I'm sorry," she started to apologize, embarrassed and worried.

"Believe me, you're definitely not hurting me, but Tenel Ka, where are we anyway? And don't I still have a race today?" he started to get up, afraid that missing the race would disqualify him.

_One race, one loss and Tenel Ka belongs to Kanortine_, a negative voice at the back of his head reminded him. Tenel Ka's hand reached up and pushed Jacen in the chest back onto the bed.

"Don't even think about getting up," she scolded, "You don't have to race today, Kanortine moved things around because he wanted you in there. You draw a lot of crowds. In any case, you were dipped in bacta for three hours, then when you got out I made sure they brought you here. This is my room in Kanortine's palace for the duration of our stay."

Jacen finally noticed the elegant surroundings and the soft, delicate material the bed covers were made out of.

"How did you get them to move me here?" Jacen asked curiously.

"I payed Kanortine for it with rainbow gems of Gallinore. I had some on the _Rancor Tooth._

"Ah," Jacen replied, then paused for a moment, thinking, "Tenel Ka, how did you manage to attend the fight? You weren't allowed to before."

Tenel Ka looked as if she would have liked to avoid the whole subject and shrugged her shoulders.

"Well, he said I could come if I tried to look like a princess for once. I wore the dress and let some artists put the make-up on me, and in exchange, he let me come along. I thought I could be some help," Tenel Ka explained, then scowled, "I felt so useless."

Jacen leaned forward and brought his arms around her, embracing her tightly.

"Just seeing you there was enough to help me. Don't feel like that, it's not your fault we're here," he consoled her, then continued, "Did I mention that I could have died when I saw you? You're beautiful you know."

He heard Tenel Ka make a disgusted sound, "It was just the dress and make-up, I had nothing to do with it."

Jacen snickered, "Right, whatever. The dress was just an accessory. You're beautiful all time and you just don't realize it."

Tenel Ka didn't say anything to this statement, and Jacen took advantage of the moment. He picked up where she had left off, kissing her softly on the base of her neck and slowly working his way up to her mouth, delighting in the smell of her skin and the brush of her hair against his cheek. Through the Force he could feel her amusement, her mirth at his eagerness and his infatuation. He wondered for a moment what would become of this relationship if he continued in the direction that part of him wanted to go in. She had the power here. She was a Dathomiri warrior, and in her people's tradition, a woman had dominance and control over a man. But with his Force perception, he could tell that beyond her enjoyment at his obvious attraction to her, there was loyal honesty, a deep and fluent understanding, and he knew that she truly loved him back.

With that in mind, Jacen broke the kiss, content to merely look at her, and smiled widely.

Tenel Ka smiled back at him. She was about to lean forward and kiss him again, when the doors of the room flew open, and Kanortine walked in, flanked by two of his body-guards. He smirked at them, knowing he had them feeling like guilty children caught in the act and felt glad about interrupting them. He did find them in a rather compromising situation, Jacen still had his arms around Tenel Ka's waist and she was leaning against his chest, when he still didn't have a shirt on.

Instead of releasing her though, he only stood up, bringing Tenel Ka with him, and he only dropped one arm, leaving his other on her waist. Her hand went to her hip and her chin came up in defiance.

"I'm glad you're feeling better Jacen Solo," said Kanortine, "You will race tomorrow at dawn. I suggest you get some sleep."

As he spoke the sentence, he looked pointedly from Tenel Ka to Jacen and then back again. Jacen stiffened and crossed his arms across his chest indignantly, while Tenel Ka bristled, equally insulted.

"You paid for his keep in gems Princess," Kanortine continued slyly, "He is in your care for tonight. Value what time you have, he may very well die tomorrow."

His information dispensed with, Kanortine spun and left the room, his cape whirling behind him. The bodyguards followed swiftly after.

"The nerve of that…" Tenel Ka began heatedly, but Jacen silenced her by putting a slight pressure on her arm.

"Just out of curiousity, where you planning for me to sleep tonight?" he asked jokingly.

Tenel Ka missed the humor and replied, "The bed. However, I was planning to use the couch."

Jacen considered for a moment then responded, "Don't bother. We're responsible, we can both use the bed."

Tenel Ka gave him a skeptical look, but she nodded, then moved over to the left side. Jacen slipped back under the blankets where he'd been sleeping before.

Tenel Ka turned off the glow panels with a switch on the nightstand next to the bed, then curled contentedly underneath the covers, her head resting on Jacen's chest.

"Goodnight Tenel Ka," he said softly.

"Goodnight Jacen."

Tenel Ka awoke before dawn, and for a moment she wondered where she was. This didn't look like her room in the Jedi Temple, this wasn't what her bed felt like, and she certainly had never woken up laying next to another person.

Then it all came back to her. The fight, Jacen falling to the ground covered in blood, her standing by the bacta tank helplessly praying that he would be alright. She remembered the way his hair was plastered against his face from the storm and the way his eyes accquired that dreamy, faraway look as he gazed up at her in great pain. She remembered dealing with Kanortine, persuading him to give Jacen into her care for the night. The happiness he'd felt at waking up to see her, and especially the way he'd kissed her were still vivid in her mind. She couldn't believe her easy-going, innocent eyed friend could kiss her with that much passion, or have held that emotion inside of him for that long. 

She shifted in bed and turned to see Jacen's sleeping face above hers. His dark-brown hair was ruffled and his arms were around her neck and back, gently holding her against him. She carefully slid out from his grip and bent her head to briefly touch her lips to his.

Tenel Ka sat on the edge of the bed, watching the first pink rays of sunlight start to enter the sky. She tried to mediate, to focus on keeping calm and in control, but her concentration broke as she heard Jacen sigh in his sleep and reach out with his hands, seemingly searching for something. Tenel Ka tried to erase the sound from her mind, but it sounded too much like the way he had last night when he'd kissed her.

Desire. Friendship. Lust. Love. What was love really about anyway? Couldn't she retain that understanding and thoughtful Jacen and call that love? What separated love from friendship, after all, was it physical attraction? Mutual respect and admiration? How could one tell the difference? Maybe love was determined by actions, and if that was the case, then Jacen definitely loved her. He was risking his life for her right now. Somehow though, Tenel Ka knew that it ran deeper than that. Why, she didn't know, but it seemed hard to distinguish love and comradeship the more she dwelled on it. Love was like faith, intangible and unexplainable, but somehow, you believed in it.

Tenel Ka knew that Jacen had a physical attraction to her. She'd felt it the night before, and she could feel it now. Yet, it was only a small, miniscule detail of the feelings he held for her.

Tenel Ka rubbed her temples in frustration. Maybe she should just forget about certain details of the past two days and go back to just being friends with him. But that would be cruel, she would have been leading him on before and that was as awful idea as any to Tenel Ka.

Jacen stirred again, this time mumbling something incoherent under his breath. Tenel Ka reached out and put a hand on his forehead, sending him into a Jedi healing trance, giving him strength she knew he would need today. When she finished, she kept her eyes closed, enjoying the peace for a moment.

Opening her eyes, she found Jacen in the same state of wakefulness, his brown eyes watching her with a knowing twinkle. She wanted to smack the silly grin off his face so her stomach would stop fluttering.

Too long she thought about this, and with lightning fast reflexes, Jacen sat up and grabbed her around the waist then tackled her. He rolled her over on her back, his hands pinning her shoulders down into the bed.

Jacen grinned and then promptly tilted his head down to kiss her.

It wasn't a gentle kiss or a "good-morning-I-missed-you," type kiss. This was a "I love you and I want you," type of kiss, hard and forceful. Tenel Ka's eyes widened as he ran his right hand down from her shoulder to her hip, sliding his other arm under her neck. She pulled her mouth away abruptly, gasping.

"Jacen," she said breathlessly, "Let go!"

She thought she might have spoken too harshly, maybe he hadn't been quite awake yet, still dreaming, and would be ashamed. Jacen's eyes were directly above hers and she read the same thing in his eyes she'd felt in his kiss.

"Jacen," she warned again, making her voice a little sterner.

Jacen blinked and shook his head, then rolled off to the right. When she sat up, he gave her a softer, simply affectionate kiss on the cheek.

"You and Jedi healing trances make an interesting combination," Jacen joked, "A powerful combination."

"I see that," Tenel Ka said, "Did you sleep well?"

Jacen gave her a look that said, _What do you think?_ and smiled.

"And you?" he asked.

"Fine," she replied, then looked out the window, "Dawn is soon. Come stand by the window and I'll heal you before you go. You'll need it for today."

If the nights on this planet seemed beautiful, then the mornings were incomparable. Tenel Ka could see the mountains from the window and the lightening sky starting at their craggy edges. She smiled and turned her back to it, facing Jacen.

He closed his eyes and put his hands on her hips as she raised her hand to his forehead and concentrated hard. She reached deep down inside where her strength lay, before turning completely around and stretching her senses outside of her and all around her. She could feel the vastness and complexity of life. She could feel her own inner conflict, the struggle to do what she thought was right and not stray from the light side path. She could feel Jacen beside her, serene and calm with caring for her radiating from inside of him. She could feel his pain and his guilt and his worries for the future, both immediate and far-reaching. It was amazing.

Then, through the link in the Force that they shared, Tenel Ka reached her most positive feelings and thoughts, and extended them through the solid form of their bond, up through her hand into him. She closed her eyes to increase her focus, and she heard Jacen gasped and stepped back from her, but maintained the touch of her hand against him. If she could have seen what he saw, a silent, peaceful face of royal beauty, with red-gold hair outlined in the first yellow rays of dawn light, she would have understood his awe. Yet she didn't, so she carefully gathered her power back into herself and removed her hand from him.

For a moment they only stood staring at each other, not really comprehending what they had just done, but whatever words each of them would have said were rudely cut off by Kanortine entering the room, flinging the double doors opened with a flourish.

"Jedi, I'm afraid your time together is at an end," he announced with bravado, "I must take Jacen Solo with me to prepare for the next race. Tenel Ka Chume Ta' Djo is welcome to attend, provided she wears proper attire."

Jacen spared a dagger glance in Kanortine's direction, then turned back to Tenel Ka.

"I'll be okay," he reassured her.

Tenel Ka just nodded and looked at the floor, not wanting Jacen to see the worry and doubt in her eyes.

Jacen stepped closer and then lifted her chin with his hand, then leaned forward and kissed her briefly, almost as if he was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop if he did more. With a cocky smile in her direction, Jacen turned and strode swiftly from the room.

Tenel Ka watched him go, a weight settling on his heart and dread trying to work it's way into her mind. She shook her head in irritation, then stalked across the room to the refresher to get ready for the race.


	8. Cheater Cheater

Jacen sat in the seat of a swoop bike, listening to the noise of engines being tested in the hangar around him. His eyes were closed and he was relaxing, visualizing the race before it began. It was a technique he had always found helpful, it helped him to feel confident. As he imagined himself crossing the finish line, he opened his eyes and looked around him. There was twenty minutes until the race started, and he had to get his bike out onto the track before that time.

Jacen wasn't exactly nervous, he just felt apprehensive. He finished two of Kanortine's challenges, but there were still four more to go. His major concern was that even if he won, Kanortine would still not let them leave, it was hard to trust the word of a pirate. He knew that Tenel Ka would be working up escape plans, even if he were winning, but that didn't change the way he felt. He wanted to win and get the entire experience over with, every second they spent here was another second she wouldn't be able to spend on Dathomir. Jacen wished they'd had more time to talk. Going to Dathomir together would mean that he talk to her more, help her understand the vision she'd had. Jacen knew that Tenel Ka could seem rather cold and aloof, but he knew the real person underneath the tough exterior. There was a brave, loyal and intellectual person there, with insecurities and fears just like anyone else's. He knew she felt worried about the future of Hapes, especially about the heir to the throne issue. He could see Tenel Ka being a queen just as easily as he saw her as a princess, she would be fair and generous, but she would hate the job at the same time. Tenel Ka hated politics. Yet here she was, held captive and being embarrassed not because of whom she really was, but because of someone she didn't even want to be. The idea was infuriating. 

Jacen sighed and got the bike ready, prepping it for flight and maneuvering it out of the hanger, trying to push away the pressure he felt building as he did so. One race, one loss, and then he and Tenel Ka could be here a while trying to get out because despite what Kanortine offered, Jacen couldn't just leave her. It seemed so hard that one little mistake could cost so much. It didn't seem fair.

_Reality check Jacen, life isn't fair. It should be, but it isn't._

Jacen shook his head and put on the special helmet. Unlike other races, these were not monitored by outside holorecorders, but were recorded and live fed to holoscreens everywhere by two holorecorders attached to the helmet. While observing the race, the viewers would see everything the way the racer saw.

The other contestants lined up, and from the private viewing stand over the announcer's box, Jacen saw Tenel Ka and Kanortine watching. Her dress today was perhaps even more stunning. The neckline alone, which dropped down to her belly button, would make most men stare, and the glimmer of emerald jewels embedded against a rich green fabric was gorgeous and alluring. The bottom was loose and long, falling down around her like waves. Her hair was straight and fell gracefully down her bare back and shoulders. Jacen could tell that Tenel Ka hated it beyond belief.

He gave her a grin as the announcer ran through his usual introductions, then turned back to face the course. Jacen knew he should have been nervous, swoop racing was even more dangerous than pod racing, but as he gunned the engines in anticipation, he felt a thrill of excitement run through him. He knew his dad had been one of the greatest swoop bike racers on Corellia when he was Jacen's age. Jacen hoped the talent was hereditary.

"Observe, unworthy scum, the deadly past-time of swoop-bike racing!" cried Romany.

Jacen wondered why Romany was here when all the spectators were watching it on holo. He was probably being recorded too.

A timer turned on above him and Jacen gripped the handlebars tightly, straining his ears over the engine fire to hear the countdown. He wasn't sure whether or not he was hearing the right language. He used the Force to amplify the voice, and just in time, for he only heard, "Two… One!"

Partly out of panic and partly out of reflex, Jacen slammed down on the gas, and his swoop roared ahead out into the midst, ahead of the other eight racers, for some had died in the gladiator matches and pod-races.

_Yes! _He cheered mentally in exultation,_ Finally a good start!_

Jacen throttled the engine a little more, trying to put some distance between the other contestants and him. The first obstacles he encountered were the same trees he'd been introduced to in the pod-race, but at a different part of the forest. He swerved left and right, ducking in and out between the deadly plants, trying to avoid crashing into one of the trunks. It seemed whenever he moved in one direction to avoid a tree, another would be blocking the way.

Jacen had rarely experienced something this much fun. Even flying a pod-racer was no match for swoop racing, where speed drowned everything else out and your own quick reflexes were the only things keeping you from sudden, fiery death. It was thrill seeking and piloting at its very height, depending only on courage, strength, and raw talent.

Jacen wasn't sure about the raw talent department, but he knew that some of his father's skills had been passed down, and he was lucky Jaina didn't have all those Solo genes.

Pulling out of a near collision with one of the larger trees, Jacen discovered he was no longer in the forest. The scenery had changed to a rockier terrain, the foothills of the mountains that Jacen had raced through a short time before.

He almost didn't see the rift before he came to it, but at the last second, Jacen realized there was a deep, wide fissure in the ground and he clenched his teeth and steered precisely down the cliff side. He dodged haphazardly around boulders and rock pillars and glanced briefly down at his directional screen. The course kept going straight ahead, so it meant no turning sideways to follow the valley. Jacen braced himself for the other side of the fissure, ready to send his swoop into a steep climb upwards, but the cliff side came up so unexpectedly when Jacen ducked around a giant rock that he just barely wrenched the handlebars backward at the last second. He wasn't quite in time and the bottom back end of his swoop nicked the rock, nearly toppling him forward into the cliff face.

Jacen wiped the sweat off his brow and wiped his pants as he cleared the fissure and greeted the clear blue sky again. He was glad for the goggles, the wind was whipping against him so violently his clothes outlined his abdominal muscles, so he couldn't imagine what it would be like if his eyes weren't covered.

Straight ahead of him, Jacen saw a blue shimmering expanse and he blinked for a second

Wondering what it was that he saw. At first he thought it an expanse of desert, with heat waves radiating off of the sand, but as he sped closer, he saw it for what it was, an expansive lake stretching nearly two kilometers in length.

Jacen was confused for a moment, because the lake wasn't hazardous or particularly onerous to race across. Then he realized by looking at his display map that the course was taking him to the north side of the lake, where the foot hills grew noticeable again and a thick forest hugged the edge of the water. He braced himself for another tree run, but was rescued from that challenge as he realized there was a wide river that probably fed into a mountain glacier's run off stream.

He turned sharply into the path and sped up a notch, reasoning that this course would be fairly easy.

He heard the roaring before he saw it. Yet Jacen had been so confident in a smooth ride that the sudden drop caught him almost unaware. The swoop jerked forward and nearly threw Jacen off, before he took control and wrenched the handlebars upwards, righting himself. The swoop was still tilted forwards and all Jacen's efforts couldn't keep the front end from hitting the rushing water straight on.

Jacen cried out, and yanked even harder to right the swoop, but it was too late and the damage had been done. The swoop plunged briefly into the churning, shallow waters at the bottom of the waterfall and as it did it hit one of the protruding rocks and Jacen immediately felt the vehicle slow down and lose altitude.

"Kriff, kriff, kriff, _kriff!_" cursed Jacen vehemently, surveying the damage as he came out of the dive down the waterfall at half the speed he'd been going before. He looked around quickly to survey the damage and discovered that three-quarters of the engine's power cells were gone and all maneuvering on his left side was shot.

He would never make it back on this swoop.

"Did I mention _kriff?_" Jacen complained to himself. He knew he was in big trouble now. He was ahead, but he didn't have enough of a lead to make it back ahead of the other racers at his present speed. He tried to think desperately of a plan, but the only thing he could think of doing was somehow using the Force to propell himself faster towards the finish line. He knew that could never work, he didn't have the expertise with machines that his sister had and the swoop would not be coaxed by him to put itself through the agony. There was no way he'd have time to fix it either, because he could hear the engines of the other swoops approaching.

Jacen bit his lip and hit the control screen with his fist. What could he do? Defeat wasn't an option, every race mattered, there were no second chances, no extra tries. There was only loss and after that, imprisonment. Kanortine wanted him to win every race because it built of pressure and bets for each following race, if Jacen lost one, then all the expectations and excitement went straight back down to a normal level.

So the question now was, how, in the name of all things sacred, could he win this race?

The idea dawned on him, and it was so simple in it's existence that Jacen nearly hit himself for not thinking of it beforehand.

Jacen allowed his engines to list a little to the side, making it seem as though the swoop was in worse shape than it was and that Jacen was having trouble controlling it. He could feel the closest racer, cruising about fifteen seconds ahead of the others. This would have to be quick.

Jacen's target moved closer and closer to the intercept point. When it seemed he could wait no longer, Jacen felt the racer move into the required area. At that precise point, Jacen cut sharply to the right, nearly running into the other contestant's swoop. He used the Force to give the man a push off the swoop bike, feeling the surprise and unexpected anger of the man as he fell into the river, and somersaulted through the air, landing lightly in the good swoop's seat.

"Phew," Jacen breathed, and throttled the engine hard. The course branched off from the river into a mountain valley. Jacen rode his hardest, full out here, keeping nothing reserved or restrained.

He could almost feel the rock brush his arm as he shot through the narrowest crevice he'd known a pilot to squeeze through, but once out, the course rounded around an outcropping and then to the finish line.

Jacen braked carefully to a stop and removed his helmet as he jumped joyfully off the bike. He waved and grinned at Tenel Ka, who gave a reserved smile in return. Despite her reticence, Jacen could feel her gladness and relief coming in waves through the Force, crashing into him and elevating his spirits, which could possibly be any higher than they were now. He'd beat the odds again.


	9. Dinner with the Devil

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AN: Jess, you now win the award of MFR, Most Faithful Reviewer! Thanks for all the feedback my friend!

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Chapter Nine: Dinner with the Devil

Tenel Ka started to get up and run towards the race track, wanting to congratulate Jacen on his win. She also wanted to see if he would continue the tradition he had of kissing her after every race, and that was the real issue, wasn't it? However, as she stood and started towards the turbolift, Kanortine's guards moved to block her way and Kanortine put his hand warningly on her shoulder. Tenel Ka whirled to face him, her muscles tense and posed threateningly towards him. If he tried anything like that again… well, Kanortine wouldn't only have Jacen to deal with.

"Relax Princess," Kanortine drawled in his silky tone, then crossed his arms over his chest in satisfaction, "Jacen will be taken to his cell now, he's a security risk. After three wins some of the other contestants are sure to be getting a bit testy. They might try to jump him and eliminate the competition."

Tenel Ka nodded stonily, refusing to speak to him, her body still poised to fight.

"You will join me for dinner now," Kanortine said in a voice that didn't invite argument or disagreement.

Tenel Ka ignored the warning.

"No," she said without expression, her mouth in a straight firm line and her chin lifted as befitted Hapan royalty.

Kanortine glanced at her and raised an eyebrow at her defiance. He turned fully to look at her this time, giving his full attention to her for a moment as if to judge the depth of the situation. He smirked, the left corner of his mouth stretching towards his ear in a coy, unimpressed manner.

"No?" he repeated slowly, drawing his words out, "What a shame. It would be so bad if Jacen Solo's next racing vehicle suddenly developed a _glitch_ or otherwise, don't you agree?"

Tenel Ka's hackles rose, a sense of injustice stealing over her. She had to submit this time, to keep Jacen safe. She calmed herself with a Jedi exercise, and then nodded her head deliberately, "I will attend dinner with you."

"I'm so glad we understand each other Princess."

Tenel Ka was still feeling angry by the time she returned to her room in the palace. The blond-haired female assistant, Moneeq, that Kanortine had provided to ensure that Tenel Ka's hair and make-up were always immaculately done was standing by the closet, her bag over her arm and a sympathetic look on her face. Tenel Ka resisted the urge to glare at her. She was a warrior, and as tight of spot as she was in, she didn't appreciate pity. At the same time, she knew the woman was only trying to be nice.

Moneeq cleared her throat mildly and gestured with one finely manicured hand to the closet that held a variety of elegant dresses. Apparently, Tenel Ka was expected to exchange the green dress for her dinner occasion.

Tenel Ka closed her eyes and braced herself, not looking forward to the unfamiliar cloth and scratchy jewels that rubbed and irritated her skin. Her lizard hide armour, which she wore even under her black Jedi robes, would always be her preference.

"Here," said Moneeq, opening the wardrobe, "Try this one. It will look great with your hair, and bring out your eyes."

The dress she held was almost plain in comparison with the other two she'd recently worn, only a dark navy without decoration. It wasn't until Tenel Ka picked it out of Moneeq's arms and held it up that she realized the beauty of the dress was in its elegant cut and graceful lines. Tenel Ka slipped into it while Moneeq turned away, and was actually impressed by the attractiveness of the dress. The front of the dress was conservative enough, and the straps didn't attach at the back of the neck like the other two dresses she'd worn, but went straight over her shoulders. The straps were thin, about the width of a finger, and the back of the dress left only her shoulders bare. The bottom was full and long, making a graceful train at the back. The material was sleek and velvety to the touch. 

"I like it," Tenel Ka admitted, fingering the smooth fabric.

Moneeq smiled and proceeded to make other changes in Tenel Ka's appearance. Her hair was curled and parts of it were held up in diamond clips, making her glitter. Tenel Ka endured the treatment with growing impatience. The exercise reminded her too much of visiting Hapes, where she was always dressed up to attend the royal court.

As Tenel Ka was swiftly walked toward Kanortine's chambers, she tried to organize her thoughts into some kind of pattern. The biggest of her worries was Jacen, but she knew he could manage on his own and she felt no pain of his through the Force. The next problem was Kanortine. Up until this point, he had been menacing, but distant. Now he requested her presence and Tenel Ka was at a loss as to what he could want with her. She wondered why Kanortine didn't just hold her and demand a ransom while Jacen risked his life. Maybe he already had and Tenel Ka didn't know about it. She kept wondering what the mysterious king was playing at. He seemed to like showing her off like a piece of jewellry, but he hadn't threatened her directly and he hadn't tried any stunts expected from male captors. The whole situation reminded her greatly of time spent on Hapes, and Kanortine shared many similarities to her grandmother. At least that would give Tenel Ka a level playing field. Just like the games that she'd played with Ta' Chume, she could dodge questions and maneuver her way out of direct confrontations with Kanortine. He might be deceitful and sly, but no one could match Ta' Chume in that game, and Tenel Ka had been holding her own for years. She walked into the extravagantly decorated dining room feeling confident in her abilities.

Kanortine stood with a bow, which Tenel Ka returned stiffly, and then sat down in the chair that Kanortine pulled out for her. He started to push it in, but Tenel Ka grabbed the edge and moved it herself. Kanortine only shrugged and seat himself across from her.

"Good afternoon Princess," he greeted suavely, "I see Moneeq fulfilled her job expertly as usual."

"She does her job optimally," Tenel Ka said in an expressionless voice, as a servant poured her wine. She ignored it and drank the glass of water.

"Yes, that dress compliments your hair and eyes wonderfully," smiled Kanortine, picking up the wine and sipping it.

Tenel Ka had expected this move and only replied indifferently, "She said it would."

They did not speak for a moment as the servants served an appetizer, a small, artistically arranged plate of vegetables. Tenel Ka ate a bit of it before Kanortine spoke again.

"Are you worried about your friend Princess? Unsure of whether he will win, or even survive the next race?"

Tenel Ka was caught slightly off guard, but she was so unaccustomed to letting expression show on her face that she doubted Kanortine realized her dilemma. 

"Of course I am worried for Jacen, he is a very dear friend," Tenel Ka said, allowing an edge to creep into her voice. What was Kanortine working towards? Some kind of bargain? She waited suspiciously.

Kanortine leaned back slightly in his seat, seemingly pleased with her answer. She sensed that she'd been baited and given him the answer he was looking for.

"Only a friend Princess?" Kanortine questioned, raising a pierced eyebrow, "He appears to be more than that to you."

"He is. But he is a friend first and foremost," Tenel Ka said bluntly.

Kanortine looked even more satisfied and looked ready to go in for the kill.

"But you are lovers," Kanortine smirked.

Tenel Ka glared daggers at him.

"We have never been lovers," she scowled, glowering at him and clenching her fist.

"Really?" Kanortine seemed amused, "Yet you are in love, are you not?"

Tenel Ka was so surprised by this line of conversation that she had no reply. It was strange, she had been asking herself the same thing lately and had been perplexed at her own emotions. She'd been tried to hide it from herself, she realized. Everything about Jacen, the way he looked at her, the way he acted around her, the way he talked to her, the way he listened, the way he held her hand, especially the way he kissed her all let her know that he truly loved her. She knew she felt the same way, she was just a little hesitant to show it, to herself and to him, at the moment. But what did Kanortine care about the emotions and drama of two teenagers, unless he was counting explicitly on Jacen losing the race and keeping Tenel Ka here? She was confused, so she risked asking him about his intentions.

"Why is it your concern? Does Jacen's feelings interfere with some plan of yours?" she inquired in a demanding tone.

To her continued puzzlement, Kanortine threw back his head and laughed amusedly. Tenel Ka sat with an extremely disconcerted look on her face. This pirate was playing games with her that she no longer knew the rules too. He was treading into personal territory, not following the expected path.

"Princess, I am only wondering what your intentions for the future of your relationship are. I suspect that you do not wish to inherit the throne of Hapes, but what choice do you have and what place would Jacen Solo have in a life like that? I cannot picture one of his character being at ease in a royal court," Kanortine surmised.

"His mother is the Chief of State of the New Republic, and formerly a princess of Alderaan," Tenel Ka replied indignantly. She worked against the doubts that had been planted in her head. Kanortine had unsettled her slightly, bringing to mind questions that would eventually need answering that she didn't want to face right now, especially with him.

"Yes, but he is a Jedi, and that is a different matter entirely," Kanortine said in a confident, sly voice.

Tenel Ka's back straightened and she glared at him.

"I am also a Jedi, and I will choose the path that feels right," Tenel Ka said, repeating a promise she'd made to herself long ago, after the accident with her lightsaber. 

Kanortine made a clicking sound with his tongue and shook his head dramatically.

"You are so naïve Princess," he said with scorn to her, "There is so much about the inner workings of the galaxy that you do not understand and may never understand within your royal, sheltered life."

Glaring at Kanortine with fire in her eyes, Tenel Ka bristled at his remarks.

"I have had attempts on my life from the time I was three years old. I have fought men to the death and endured torture and hardships since my Jedi training began. I am not naïve."

Kanortine narrowed his eyes and leaned forward, his voice coming softer and more venemous now.

"You have no clue what it's like to be an average person. You have no idea what it takes to start with nothing and make something out of it. You don't understand the struggle of everyday life," Kanortine said.

Tenel Ka thought that was rather rich, coming from a self-proclaimed King, but she supposed that he knew what he was talking about, that he hadn't always been rich or powerful.

"What do you want Kanortine?" Tenel Ka asked, her voice calm and unimpressed.

Kanortine's face broke into a smirk and he picked up his fork to begin the next course of the meal. 

"What I want," he answered simply, with finality, "Is entertainment and amusement and beautiful things to observe for the rest of my time."

Tenel Ka tilted her head, surprised at his answer. She supposed that was his motive for keeping her here. She was some piece of exotic art that he wanted for his collection. He had no real interest in her as a person or as a pawn for money, she was merely another bauble to be admired and increase his status. There was relief for her in this realization, but also a sense of insignificance, a sense of being a very tiny speck in the fabric that was the universe.

And with that thought, dinner was continued in silence.


	10. Under Mountain, Over River

****

Chapter Ten: Under Mountain, Over River

The sun had just sunk beneath the peaks of the Tuwan Mountains and darkness was descending upon the pirate world of Simileon. The stars were coming out and the two moons, Ratar and Mogen, were in the waning stage, shedding only slivers of light upon the world.

Jacen took a deep breath of the incredibly thin air, which smelled partly of evergreen trees and mostly of the cold, chilly scent of snow. Jacen was one of the few people in the galaxy that grew as close to nature as to be able to smell snow. Like everything else, it had a distinctive tone and a particular trait that made it memorable. In this case, it was the freezing quality it had and the way it was making Jacen's feet feel like blocks of ice. Jacen was finding it very difficult to breathe at this height above sea level. His ears and the tip of his nose were going numb as well. Still, he had trudged outside through the knee deep blanket of icy crystals to take a breath of fresh air, because he was certain after finding out the requirements of the next race that this glimpse of the stars would certainly be his last.

Laboriously, Jacen worked his way back to the entrance of the racecourse, the top of the highest, largest mountain in the Tuwan range, dubbed the Hellmaker by all who dared to scale it's heights. Its rocky sides were coated with sheets of black ice and frosted with snow packs that would cause an avalanche at the slightest pressure, or tiniest breeze. Trees grew thickly about a fifth of the way up, but after that, there wasn't soil or air rich enough to sustain them. The craggy, jagged edges of the mountain were like teeth, wanting to swallow any that defied them.

Jacen didn't have to worry about these external features. His race was a winding, twisting, death-skirting trail through the inside of the mountain and then a well-timed exit through a side tunnel down a mountain glacier turned river. The track was only partially lit by the lights of the race vehicle, so Jacen would be almost completely surrounded by blackness. What worried Jacen the most about this endeavor was claustrophobia he experienced whenever he stepped inside the mountain. He felt like the whole place could come down on him at any minute.

He swiftly made his way to where the racing vehicles were kept and found the one assigned to him. Nearly a thousand people clustered in the hollowed out bowl in the stands on either side of the starting line. Jacen couldn't see Tenel Ka or Kanortine anywhere, but Romany was, as usual, strategically placed in a tech booth along the sidelines. The bright, gaudy colours of Ryn fashion were evident even from where Jacen stood.

The racing vehicle was called a Striker, and despite Jacen's misgivings about the race, he had to admit the beauty of the design. The craft was sleek and bullet-shaped, black, with metal runners on the side to slide against the ice. There were some moderately powerful thrusters on the back that would boost the craft faster if needed. All in all, it was a very deftly assembled machine.

Jacen donned a helmet and zipped his jacket up further, chilly in the cold air, his breath visible in white puffs of fog in front of him. He opened the glass canopy and jumped into the seat then strapped himself in and started up the striker. The display panel that gave him graphical information about his surroundings and the racecourse was directly in front of him, but behind the roughly rectangular handle with a two-handed grip that Jacen would need to steer with. There were some other buttons that could be used for control of the striker and for morphing the vehicle when it hit the water part of the race.

Jacen straightened up and reached for the steering handle when the comlink inside his helmet informed him that there were thirty seconds before the race began. Jacen swallowed nervously and looked ahead of him. The track was wide at first but then it narrowed down so closely that only one, or maybe two cars could fit at one time.

Why was the beginning always the most important part of the race?

Jacen used his Jedi calming routine as the computer-automated voice started counting down from twenty and Romany's voice carried to his ears.

"Our last seven contestants have never met a more lethal or difficult challenge! The striker race is the pinnacle in contests of speed, skill and quick reaction time! The average time a contestant has to react to a turn in the race is 0.6 seconds! The odds would make a Corellian tremble!"

_Probably not,_ Jacen thought, _Maybe sweat a little, but never tremble._

He gripped the steering handle harder as the five-second countdown began.

_Five…_

Jacen figured there was a high chance he would die soon.

_Four…_

What would his parents say if he perished out here on the edge of the galaxy?

_Three…_

What would his sister say?

_Two…_

What would Tenel Ka say?

_One._

In an instant that left no room for thought, Jacen's doomsday clock hit midnight and he pushed the handle forward. Despite all his efforts, three other strikers entered the narrow track ahead of him. Jacen grimaced and pressed more speed from his vehicle, knowing that he must find some way of passing the vehicles before the water part, for after that there wouldn't be enough time to pass three other racers.

The tunnel which Jacen raced the contraption through was very dimly lit by orange glow rods strapped by thin metal pieces to the rock roof and by the two measly lights on the front of the striker. His display screen allowed him to see the infared shapes of the vehicle that was directly in front of him, but other than that, Jacen was almost going by instinct.

That, however, was saying a lot. If a racer only had 0.6 seconds to react to a turn, then there must be a turn every second, because all that Jacen was doing was swerving and wrenching the steering handle back and forth in a desperate struggle to prevent a very untimely and messy death. His heart dropped into his stomach as the tunnel sloped unexpectedly down a steep, almost cliff-like hill.

Another rock face loomed in front of him and he jerked the steering to the right. No sooner had he accomplished this than another appeared straight in front of him. A millisecond after that there was another curve so sharp Jacen felt it must have been a U-turn in the same part of the tunnel.

Despite all these deadly obstacles, Jacen could see the distance between his vehicle and the next shortening with each passing moment. The walls were tight, but Jacen knew that he just had to make it past. 

It was time to play dirty.

He started by ramming the vehicle just a tiny bit on the right-back end. Then he backed off and gave a more powerful bump on the left side. Jacen repeated then repeated the two moves in quick succession, back and forth, till the vehicle in front of him was utterly disoriented and pinging back and forth between the two side walls. Now came the money shot.

Jacen pushed the thrusters on the back to full power then slid his striker neatly to the left side of the one in front and pushed his way obtrusively into the tight squeeze between the craft and the stony surface. His striker was balancing all its weight on its left side and began to slide smoothly past. Jacen was concentrating fully on edging in front, when a screeching, nails-on-chalkboard sound nearly made him jump out of his skin. The transparisteel canopy of the striker had scrapped against the side of the wall, and a jagged crack now marred the clear surface.

_Uh oh_, Jacen predicted.

He was forced to ignore the problem and continue slipping past his foe. A quick glance at his view screen told him he would have to complete this soon, because directly ahead of him the tunnel narrowed so greatly that one striker would scrape the sides.

Closer, closer, the walls seemed to pinch together. 

Jacen didn't know how much longer he could last.

Closer, closer, Jacen wasn't even breathing now.

Closer… closer… 

And with a gasp, Jacen nosed in front and took third place, just as the walls thickened and an ungodly jarring noise could be heard and turbulence shook the seat.

Jacen took a moment to turn and check if the other racer had made it, and found his adversary had indeed survived.

"Har har matey," Jacen murmured in amusement to himself before returning his full attention to the next task he had to accomplish. And just in time, because the tunnel resumed its demented, roller coaster-like course with a steep drop, an S-turn, and then a sudden climb.

Jacen caught up with his next opponent in no time. Feeling rather confident in himself, Jacen decided a new trick was in order. Focusing his calm, reaching inside himself and around him, Jacen allowed the Force to flow through him with its powerful, soothing touch.

He took a deep breath and then lifted his striker up into the air, and turned on the thrusters at the same time, intent on going over top of the vehicle in front of him.

It worked quite well, except for one detail. A great deal of the striker's speed came from the glide of the runners against the ice. When Jacen lifted his striker into the air, the vehicle encountered wind resistance, loss of balance, and no longer experience the smooth, slippery cold of the ice. As a result, when Jacen thought the moment was right to turn off the thrusters and set the craft down again, Jacen had lost some ground, and the back end of his craft landed on the nose of the opposing craft behind him.

He cursed as he heard the loud metallic noise of the two vehicles colliding, and promptly turned on the thrusters again. It boosted his striker off of the other and back onto the solid ice, but it also caused his opponent to lose visuals for a moment. In that moment, it careened to the right and smashed into a fiery ball of red and orange against the side of the tunnel.

Jacen felt guilt wash over him, but he didn't have time to be preoccupied with those mistakes as the course grew even more twisted and crazy before him. He bit his lip and concentrated on what had to be done.

With the next striker he was more cautious and wary, not wanting to be the cause of death for another person, opponent or otherwise. This time, instead of levitating himself, Jacen drew deeply on the Force and lifted the other racer's striker far enough into the air that he could squeeze through underneath. Jacen pushed the thrusters and shuttled forward, zipping smoothly underneath the other craft then setting it down gently behind him. The same factors that had slowed him down, combined with the astonishment of suddenly, inexplicably being lifted into thin air, gave him a nice lead on the striker. Now he was in first place. If only he could keep it that way till the end of the race.

He looked with some degree of panic rising at the display screen. Through out the track there were slight detours, off roads that with dead-ends to confuse the racers and make the contest more interesting. The most dangerous of these forked roads was the situation near the end of the mountain course that would either send the racer in the right direction to the water course, or send them down a long and twisting path to the volcanic depths of Hellmaker.

There was a beacon of starlight at the end of the dark tunnel, and Jacen strove towards it, not because the water race would be any easier, but because at least he would be out of the dank, suffocating corridors of the mountain.

With a splash of clear blue water, Jacen's craft dove deep into the mountain river, a river that had years ago been a frozen glacier, but had been artificially melted to create a racecourse. Jacen looked at the control panels to turn on the controls that would retracted the ice runners and activate the water engine. Those operations were carried out immediately without a hitch, but when Jacen suddenly felt water dripping down his neck, other details were brought swiftly to mind.

The crack in the transparisteel was leaking water in a steady trickle, and it Jacen didn't do something quickly, the water would get to the electronics and fry something.

"Bantha fodder!" Jacen stated with disgust. How could he ever finish the last bit of the race with a damaged ship? There wouldn't be any swoop hopping this time around.

It seemed there was only one thing he could do, and that was to rise to the surface of the river. This presented a whole new degree of difficulty, for the water is usually much calmer beneath the surface, and it was, after all, a mountain river, full of rapids and fast currents and gushing torrents that would carry his vehicle away without a thought.

But there really wasn't' a choice, was there?

Jacen took a deep breath before pointing the nose to the surface and rocketing towards it, knowing that any other choice would end only in tragedy. Not that this one seemed much better. The moment he broke the barrier between water and sky, he found his craft being pulled along in a decidedly vicious current towards a group of sharp rocks that pointed wickedly above the water. He wrenched the steering handle hard to the left to avoid the deadly spires, then severely to the right as the river turned into a natural chute created by the rough, gray granite of the sides.

Jacen just barely kept his control as the craft nearly went tumbling end over end at a series of rapids, and percariously held on for the last few zigzagging turns. His vehicle whizzed through the final stretch and past the finish line, where some spectators sat under the starlit sky in anticipation. Jacen brought the craft to a halt, then exited towards a landspeeder where he saw some of Kanortine's pirates waiting for him.

He knew he should have felt excited, positively thrilled about the remarkable race he'd just went through. Yet for some reason, Jacen only felt worried. Four races were finished and only two were left to go, but somehow these contests just got harder and scarier. So whatever joy he may have felt was canceled out by the foreboding that settled over him as he braced himself for the final day of King Kanortine's races.


	11. So Beautiful

****

Chapter Eleven: So Beautiful

Tenel Ka stormed into Kanortine's throne room, an unforgiving expression on her face and a white, ethereal gown swirling around her in the winds currents of her temper.

Kanortine payed no attention to the dramatic entrance and only continued feeding the large, brilliant red, green, yellow, and orange coloured bird in a cage. He smiled as it squawked "Pretty girl, pretty girl!" and stroked the feathers on it's head before closing the cage door promptly.

Tenel Ka glanced at the creature and commented, "An interesting pet. What is its name?"

"Polly," Kanortine smiled devilishly, "It came with the eyepatch, schooner and peg leg."

Tenel Ka's face scrunched up in confusion and slight disdain. Had she been known to make sarcastic comments, there would have been long "right…" at Kanortine's antics. Instead, she only nodded, then launched into her speech.

"Jacen has won these last four races. He has persistently achieved the highest standard for every single race and he deserves to be set free now, not later. The attendance of the races and the gambling has already been three times the amount it was at the beginning, couldn't you let him go while he's still ahead?"

Kanortine shook his head solemnly, and amused look lighting his eyes. Mournfully he replied, "I regret it cannot be so Princess. A deal was made and that's what I will stick to. If he has had the fortitude to win these past races, then he will certainly survive two more, and then you will leave this system with him."

Tenel Ka held back a sigh of frustration, and only clenched her fist, the inevitability of the situation settling upon her like a cloud of piranha beetles.

"But I do not value my freedom if he dies trying to win it for me. He shouldn't have to risk his life for my sake," she murmured sadly as she turned back towards the door to return to her quarters.

"Well," Kanortine said offhandedly, "That's love for you."

Instead of being shipped back to the high-security prison cell where he had spent the afternoon, Jacen was promptly escorted to Kanortine's throne room upon arrival in the Ruswin metropolis. Dashing and debonair as always, Kanortine was facing the window, looking out upon the lighted city shining in the black night.

When Jacen entered, he turned around and gave a toothy grin, causing Jacen to wince inwardly at the gold canine.

"Congratulations," Kanortine said, "You've done well Jacen Solo. So well that I will give a small reward before you race again tomorrow."

"What would that be?" Jacen asked curiously.

"Why, you get to see your Princess again, of course!" Kanortine exclaimed in a mockingly enthusiastic voice.

Jacen was puzzled at this kindness and raised an eyebrow suspiciously, but he bowed and said calmly, "Thank-you your Majesty."

_Hey,_ he reminded himself as he was turned from the throne room and marched down the corridor, _At least this time I didn't have to threaten anyone._

He wondered momentarily about Kanortine's motives, but in the big scheme of things, he was so relieved that he didn't really care, as long as he was able to see Tenel Ka again.

The guard droids at the door moved smoothly aside and Jacen slipped in through one of the double doors. The room was dark and unlit as he moved inside, and a cool breeze murmured softly through the open window, blowing the silk curtains of the canopy bed, and ruffling the long red-gold hair of the girl that stood before it.

She seemed deep in thought, her hand on her hip and her face turned upwards, looking at the stars and the distant mountains. The dress she wore had layers and layers of overlapping white silk that seemed to float like seaweed in water all around her in the blowing wind. The utter softness and fragility of the dress outlined her tanned bronze skin and muscles, while at the same time making her seem more delicate, more vulnerable. Jacen knew Tenel Ka was the farthest from both of those traits, but he could tell by stretching out with the Force that her emotions and thoughts were in turmoil. He didn't move from where he stood, but only watched her with wide eyes, not wanting to break the magic that surrounded her or interrupt her meditation.

Tenel Ka seemed to feel, however, that he was there in the room, and she turned her face towards him, her grey eyes shining in the fragments of light cast by the night sky.

Neither Jedi spoke a word, but Jacen crossed the room quietly, in a trance, and stood behind her, pouring all his effort into probing her thoughts, trying to discover the source of her discomfiture.

Yet if there was one thing he didn't understand in the universe, and there were many things he didn't, the one that puzzled him most of all was Tenel Ka. The only thing he was sure about was what he felt for her. Beneath the surface was a swirling, twisting storm, uncharted territory that she allowed him of all people to tread the deepest into.

Yet he could not understand what was disturbing her.

"Tenel Ka?" he whispered and reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, almost hesitant to touch her, "What's wrong?"

He felt a wave of peace move over her, quieting the commotion inside briefly. She brought her hand up to touch his where it rested against her collarbone. Her fingers caressed his slightly, and he could see her eyes close.

"I am concerned for you," she said in a barely audible voice, and though her face gave nothing away as always, there was worry in her tone.

"That's it? That's all?" he questioned, surprised, "I think there's something else."

Tenel Ka jerked her head to face his, and gave a defeated sigh, "I am also concerned about the future, in hypothesis."

"What do you mean by that?"

Her lips pressed together, as if she were trying to decide how to word her problems.

"Kanortine said something to me today. I don't value Kanortine's opinion very highly, but it did make me think," Tenel Ka answered carefully.

"Think about what?" Jacen inquired.

"Whether I will able to remain a Jedi if I am required to take the throne of Hapes," Tenel Ka said.

There was something else there, Jacen knew, an underlying meaning that she didn't want to speak aloud, but one that was on her mind no less. Jacen had an idea of what it could be.

"You're worried about our relationship if you have to rule?" he questioned.

Tenel Ka nodded painfully.

"I don't think we should worry about it," Jacen said after a moment of reflection in which dozens of possible scenarios flashed across his mind.

Tenel Ka whirled around to face him, a surprised and even angry look on her face.

"Jacen, it's important! We are choosing the course our lives will take, or we were until we ended up on this planet, and after this it may be a long while before we see each other again. When we choose our separate missions, our separate paths, our lives could change in a moment, with a word, a glance, a decree, a fight, or a death. We could have no choice in the matter," Tenel Ka reprimanded.

A shiver ran through Jacen, but he ignored it. He reached forward and cupped Tenel Ka's face in his hands, looking her straight in the eyes.

"Yes, the galaxy is changing. Yes, things beyond our control may happen. And yes, we may even be separated for indefinite lengths of time, but I know one thing Tenel Ka. And that is that I love you. That's _my_ future," he spoke confidently, surely, his eyes promising her things that he didn't want to risk saying for fear that they would never be fulfilled.

Tears glistened in Tenel Ka's eyes and Jacen gently brushed them away with his thumbs, giving her an encouraging smile.

She smiled back at him, happy despite all that was occurring, her disturbing vision, her anxieties, and their current predicament. Because love gives people strength when everywhere there is weakness. Love shines light on people when all around there is darkness. Love is food when they are starving and water when they are thirsty. Love, above all, gives hope when there is only despair and destruction. And Jacen loved her.

So after a pause she suddenly stepped forward and embraced him tightly, with her smooth warm skin and the soft, pleasing fabric of her dress beneath his fingers, then she turned her head slightly so that her breath whispered against his ear.

Then in a calm, determined voice, she said to him, "I love _you_ Jacen Solo. You more than anyone else in the entire galaxy." 

Jacen could swear that he was longer in the palace, with his feet touching the cold marble floor. He felt then that he must be only a hand's width away from the stars, that if stretched his arm, he could touch one, and that it would feel the same way that Tenel Ka's hair felt against his cheek, teasing, ticklish and feather-light. His arms were pressed tightly around her waist and he felt then that he could stay this way for the rest of his life. Then, as he turned his head and his lips met hers, he knew that the rest of his life wouldn't be long enough. As she slowly kissed him and ran her fingers through his hair, he decided only forever would suffice.

Jacen awoke with the sun shining in his face, the light trying to coax his eyes sluggishly open and inviting him to stretch his limbs out, to make ready for the day. He extended his arms above his head, feeling the stiffness disappear from his shoulder muscles right up to his fingertips. Arching his back, he felt the slight tension fade from there as well. He wiggled his toes and smiled, but kept his eyes closed. Why did he feel so darn happy? He'd been dreaming about something, or had it been real? He wasn't sure, but there was this glowing, tingly feeling inside of him and he had no idea why it was there.

He felt a cloud pass over the sun as the brightness behind his eyelids faded slightly, causing him to wake up suddenly. He looked around him and remembered where he was as the events of the previous night floated back to his sleep-fogged brain. He blinked and looked beside him, where Tenel Ka was still sleeping. A smile lit his features, and his heart twisted inside of him as he gazed down on her. She was so beautiful. The fine bones of her face spoke highly of royal lineage and her eyelashes were pressed gently against her porcelain cheek. Her chest rose and fell slightly as she inhaled and exhaled peacefully. Wisps of red-gold hair lay spread out around her like a fan and other strands rested against her face. Jacen leaned over and gently brushed a few pieces out of her eyes and ran his hand along her cheek and neck.

So beautiful.

Her eyes snapped open at his touch and she tensed, and then relaxed as she realized whom it was. She smiled her reserved smile and then sat up, her tousled hair and sleepy expression making her seem more like a teenage girl than a Dathomiri warrior woman or heir to the Hapan throne. The loose beige tunic she wore went nearly to her knees.

"The race isn't till noon today. Do you want a Jedi healing technique?" she asked seriously.

A mischievous grin illuminated Jacen's face and he shook his head slowly from side to side.

"Then what do-" Tenel Ka started to say but was cut off by Jacen leaning forward and kissing her. She seemed about to protest, but relaxed as his lips delicately caressed her own. She allowed his arms to wrap around her waist and his hands to run lightly up to her neck. The notion of seeing how far she would let him go passed through his head, but he decided he wanted to live a little longer than that. When they finally broke apart, Tenel Ka carefully freed herself from his arms, got up, and walked over to the refresher, smiling as she went.

Jacen sighed wistfully and flopped on to his back. There was that other puzzlement about Tenel Ka. She certainly liked being kissed, but she never let herself be pushed too far. He admitted to himself that it good that at least one of them was showing a little restraint. He heard the sound of the shower start up and stirred a bit. He rolled off the bed and started to pace, not quite sure of himself. He was so lost in thought that as he stopped pacing and stood staring out the window, he didn't hear Tenel Ka approach behind him. Nor did he notice her until she was right beside him, her arm touching his slightly, making his skin warm. Automatically, he reached out and placed his arm across her waist, pulling her closer and she obliged.

"What were you thinking about?" asked Tenel Ka in a quiet, serene voice.

"You," Jacen said casually, giving her a lopsided grin.

Tenel Ka gave a small smile and replied, "I would have thought you'd be thinking about the upcoming race."

"You're pretty crazy if you thought I was thinking about _races_ when I was just _kissing_ you," Jacen teased her, "Why think about the bad stuff when you can think about the good? Why restrict yourself to thinking about what you should be thinking when there are other paths, better paths, more important things?"

Tenel Ka seemed to sense his need to talk about something. She said nothing and waited for him to go on, knowing there was something bothering him that he needed to talk about.

Jacen sighed and continued, "It's just… well, I've been wondering lately what being a Jedi means to me. Maybe it was because of that whole talk I had with Uncle Luke right before graduation, you know?" he gave a slight grin.

She nodded to encourage him on.

"It always seems as though I learn what it means to be a Jedi _away_ from the Jedi Academy. It's like the Academy is just a place to come back to and mediate about the latest crisis that over takes us. If a Jedi wants to learn about the Force and himself, or herself, "he added quickly, glancing at Tenel Ka, "then it seems to me like it should be a solitary thing. It's hard to think when so much is always happening. Like when is the next time I'll get a week's break in to meditate or practice? It's just a matter of time until the next big invasion of Force-knows-what comes and attacks the New Republic. Is that what being a Jedi is about? Always on the run, always rushing somewhere new to defend people from the latest bad guys? I just don't know about it anymore Tenel Ka."

He felt her pause before answering, taking it all in and thinking it over, weighing arguments.

"The first step is this: Are you going to accept Master Skywalker's offer of apprenticeship?" she asked unexpectedly.

Jacen considered for a moment, "He's been talking with Tionne about the idea of establishing a Jedi Council. That idea kind of works opposite to my thinking that a Jedi should take a reclusive path. On the other hand, there is so much I can learn from Uncle Luke, I'd be a fool to turn it down."

"This is a fact," Tenel Ka stated.

Jacen grinned at her old line and then sighed again, "Well, I'll think about it more when this is all over. I'll work it out a bit and mull it over, and do some reading as well, Tionne has some old material on the subject of "the path of a Jedi," he finished with mock solemnity.

Smiling slightly, Tenel Ka responded, "I wish you success in that endeavour Jacen."

After a moment of comfortable silence, Jacen spoke up, "Hey look, you've distracted me from what I was thinking about before!"

Tenel Ka turned her face towards his with a confused look, "What was it you were thinking of?"

Jacen drew his face closer to hers, "I was thinking I should kiss you again pretty soon."

Appropriately, Tenel Ka did not say a word to this, but only brought her arm up around Jacen's neck and kissed very hard and very sweetly. It surprised him slightly, but he wrapped both arms around her and pulled her as close as it was humanly possible. She was like a storm, like a hurricane in the ocean, with her feelings pouring out to wash over him like waves, sometimes dragging him under completely, but he did not object. He wanted to drown in her, and for a moment he almost did. Finally he knew that he couldn't handle anymore without doing something drastic, so he broke away slowly, breathing hard.

"I should really go shower now," he said regretfully, his forehead resting against hers.

Her eyes looked straight into his, dizzy and gray like the storm he imagined.

"Fact," she contended.


	12. Great Green Gobs of...

****

Chapter Twelve: Great Green Gobs of…

Blob racing. It had to be blob racing.

And not just any kind of blob racing, but giant, nerf-sized blobs fit for carrying full-grown male humans.

It was on one of these giant blobs that Jacen now sat, in a crude saddle-like seat. There were cuffs on either of his wrists with cables that attached onto the squishy bottom appendages that passed for blob arms. His ankles had similar cuffs. Apparently, using these attachments, Jacen was supposed to steer the blob through the obstacle course to the finish line and maneuver the creature in such a way as to not dismember himself.

This was, as it often is, more easily said than done.

Jacen wondered to himself, not for the first time, why he and Tenel Ka shouldn't just blast their way out of there with some Force-aided tricks.

__

A Jedi always seeks the most peaceful approach, he reminded himself,_ By choosing this way I won't have to hurt a bunch of people getting out._

He continued to wait patiently for the "go" signal. Instead of a countdown, this race would be started after five quick electronic bleeps and then a horn sound. Jacen concentrated on listening carefully. He was in a large arena sort of building, with thousands of people watching and cheering in the stands. The roar of the crowd was deafening.

He settle deeper into the saddle, testing his movability by hitting his hands against the sides of the starting stall that he now waited in. When the horn sounded the gate in front of him would open and the blob he was riding would wiggle, or whatever way it was that a blob moved, out of the stall into the course. 

Jacen really had no clue what the course would involve, but in this race, for once, his Jedi skills gave him a slight advantage. Using his talent with animals, Jacen had already braced the creature for the race, giving him the sense that there would be a food reward at the end of the race and making the blob eager to start.

Perking his ears, Jacen heard the warning beep and readied himself to begin.

__

Bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep, BZZTTTT!!!!

The gate swung open and Jacen made an explosive start, urging his blob forward faster through his chute. He immediately realized that riding a blob wasn't like driving a speeder or a pod-racer, he couldn't just sit, he had to move in a certain way. Jacen got the hang of it almost immediately and sped up, though he couldn't tell if he was ahead because the chute the blob traveled along was too high to see the other contestants.

Jacen's eyes widened as he saw the first challenge. Like giant battle axes, seven blades swung in a pendulum-like motion back and forth across the chute. He couldn't go around them, and he definitely wasn't short enough to get underneath them. Jacen stopped to find away around them. As he watched the deadly weapons swing to and fro, he calculated that he could get through there, but he wouldn't be able to stop or slow down, not for an instant.

Jacen backed up cautiously, and took a deep breath as he looked at the blades, waiting for the closest one to pass the middle…

Then he spurred the blob forward.

__

WHOOSH!! 

He got through as the first blade went up and then came back down behind him, missing by mere millimeters. Leaving no time to breathe, let alone panic, Jacen surged forward, because he was right in the path of the second blade, which would be coming back any second now.

__

WHOOSH!

Jacen felt the breeze of the axe on his neck as it missed him. The third blade was already coming down.

This time Jacen panicked and pulled so hard on the blob that he rolled straight forward, rolling the blob over top of himself and then being dragged back up and then down again as the blob rolled the rest of the way through the gambit. Jacen felt liked he'd been stepped on by a ronto, and thoroughly embarassed, but he was alive.

He braced himself for the next little surprise and groaned aloud as he saw yet more blades. This time, the weapons were circle-shaped saw blades that sliced through the wood on either side of the chute. One would come on the right, then a second after one on the left, then on the right, and so on.

Jacen swallowed, then plunged ahead.

__

Stupid blob! Why can't it go faster!

As the blades started coming at him, he dodged to the right, away from the blade coming from the left. Then he jerked his head to the left as the left bladed passed and he met the blade from the right. Right, left, right, left, Jacen swung back and forth in the saddle trying to get the blob to move enough that he wouldn't be beheaded.

__

Blasted ball of slime! Your mother was a fungus I tell you!

The blob must have sensed his harsh words, because it suddenly slowed down in fatigued defiance.

__

Ah no! I didn't mean it!

Well, he did, but he couldn't let the blob know that. Still concentrating on avoiding the blades that threatened to amputate his head, Jacen tried sending, bold, courageous thoughts to the blob so it would move him through the death trap.

The effect was like trying to get grape jelly to do push-ups.

__

Why, why by all that makes a Hutt ugly did it have to be blobs_?_

Remarkably, the blob finally managed to sludge its way past the second obstacle and Jacen breathed a huge sigh of relief. As the blob slithered around the corner, however, Jacen thought that maybe he hadn't been so lucky after all. It would have been better having your head sliced off than being a pile of slimy goo.

The next obstacle was five hydraulic operated pressers, the kind that used to be implemented for making droid parts in the Clone Wars. Jacen despaired for a moment as to how he would make it past them, but as he urged the blob towards the contraptions, he was reminded of the rolling tumble he'd made back at the pendulum blades. It would have to work, there was no other possible way he could make it past. Jacen spurred the blob to the height of its momentum and speed and braced himself for a squashing as he reached the first presser.

A presser that was soon going to be renamed a squisher in the very immediate future.

Jacen felt the ooze move over him as he slammed head first into the ground. To his great surprise and delight, he was pulled back onto the blob's back as the blob continued rolling forward and the presser missed him completely. Before he could rejoice, the inertia carried him into the ground again. He felt like the outer layer of a giant snowball that was being rolled around in snow to get bigger and make a snowman. He saw the presser coming down towards his face as he was being dragged up onto the blob's back again and cringed, waiting for the inevitable…

And found himself still rolling forward, the sound of the presser hitting the ground behind him so close and loud in his ears he figured he was certainly deaf now. He bit back revulsion as the blob rolled above and over him again, his back being pressed into the duracrete, with loose pebbles and sharp rocks digging into his skin and feeling suffocated as he wanted breath that wasn't there.

One more rotation and he should be past all five pressers…

Jacen gasped in fresh air and clean oxygen as he completed the final turn and then looked wearily ahead to the next challenge.

Giant steel tubes that were wide enough and long enough to have held Jacen rolled from the top of a steep hill at what seemed to be regular intervals. The tubes were just long enough for the width of the tunnel so that there was no hope of going around the rolling obstacles. At the bottom of the hill, there was a gap large enough for the tubes to fall into, but small enough for a blob to ooze across. Jacen exasperated a moment of how on Coruscant he was supposed to get past the tubes if the blob couldn't jump, but when he looked closer, he saw the answer. At measured places along the hill were circles that weren't part of the flooring. Jacen realized that they must be springs to make the leap from one circle to another while avoiding the tubes. A racer could only get to the top if they made sure they were in the air when the tubes rolled under them and that they did this quickly enough that a tube didn't knock them off the spring circle or have a tube beneath him when he was trying to land.

Jacen took a deep breath and then moved onto the first circle, which depressed slightly then catapulted him into the air, sending him over the gap that the tubes fell into and past one of the falling obstacles.

__

Boing!

Jacen hit the next circle.

__

Boing!

There was the next one, only four more to go.

__

Boing!

He'd just about slipped on that one.

__

Boing!

Blaster bolts, did they grease the circles or something? He kept sliding off as he tried to jump.

__

Boing!

Jacen's heart, which had been rising in hope as he got closer to his goal, suddenly clenched in sudden proclamation of doom. A tube was approaching right where they had to land.

He clamped his mouth shut to prevent letting out a scream. When he hit the tube, the blob did not splatter into a millions tiny pieces of goo as he had predicted, but caught the obstacle, then fell off and stumbled as ungracefully as it is blobly possible down the slippery slope. The blob stopped unceremoniously when it was immediately involved in a whole new danger, falling into the gap.

Before they could be sucked in entirely, Jacen grabbed a side with his hand and hauled himself up onto the path, sweating profusely with aching muscles and a heaving chest from exertion.

__

I've got to do more push-ups if I survive this, he thought amusedly to himself.

Jacen had, with the famous Solo luck, grabbed the side without the tubes on it and was able to reassess his tactics. He hauled the weary blob back up into a riding position and looked at the obstacle again.

Timing, it was always about timing. How quickly you started, how fast you achieved it, how you fought, how you reacted, how you played the game.

And contrary to what people said, it did matter whether you win or lose.

Jacen coiled the energy of the blob and waited for just the right second to move onto the first spring. In a motion so fast that only he would be able to detect it, Jacen sprang from each of the six springs and to the top of the hill.

He bent his head awkwardly to rub the perspiration from his forehead and face into his shoulder and continued forward cautiously. He felt a tremor in the Force, as if there were a large amount of life forms near by. The light around him grew darker and darker. Jacen feared he wouldn't be able to see soon, but suddenly two torches flared into bright red flame ahead of him, lighting the next obstacle. At first glance it seemed rather easy. There was a large, black pool of water with a narrow, tiny bridge across. Jacen wanted to swim through the pool, but stretched out his senses to check if it was safe. He instantly recoiled in his mind as he realized what had caused the tremor in the Force, there were hundreds of vicious creatures in that pool. He would have to take the bridge.

It was as easy for the blob as it would have been for Jacen. Because of the constitution of blobs, they tend to spread out more horizontally than vertically. Jacen had to hold his arms up and his legs out so that the blob's goo would not slipped over the sides. The effort was causing a killing, blinding pain in his arms and legs, but he gritted his teeth and kept his arms where they were. It was a good thing too, for when he looked down he saw the what the creatures inhabiting the pool were, clustering against the sides in hopes something would fall that they could attack and rip to shreds. Yala fish are tiny animals but they have a great deal of very sharp, little teeth and the hundreds crowding the pool were enough to eat him and the blob in a matter of seconds. They were waiting, bloodthirsty and deadly attentive, for any chance to feed on them.

Some where near the middle Jacen's arm couldn't take the strain anymore and one of the blob appendages dipped briefly into the water. Instantly, the yala fish attacked, shredding the exposed flesh to pieces and the blob panicked in pain. Jacen struggled to maintain a grip, but the blob was out of control. It sped along the path, dipping more into the water and spasms of agony shook Jacen in the saddle. He lost his grip and slid right off, held on only by the thin straps of the harnesses and his face only centimeters from the surface of the water, where hungry yala fish stared up at him.

Now, Jacen might not have been touching the water, but the problem here was this, yala fish could jump.

Jacen muffled a scream as two jumped out of the water and the first one sunk it's teeth into his shoulder. He yanked himself away from the bite of the second fish, which had been aiming for his nose.

The energy that fresh pain gave him allowed him to pull himself back into the seat, but there was no way that he could unlatch the yala fish, and he would slowly bleed to death, as the saliva of the fish contained enzymes that kept his blood from clotting.

He stretched out with the Force to touch the creatures simple mind. He worked with difficulty to plow past every natural predator instinct the yala fish contained and project the thought that his blood tasted terrible, that it was cold and weak tasting and that there must be something wrong with him.

He held his breath, but the creature did drop off suddenly and landed with a splash back in the water.

Jacen tried to ignore the searing pain in his shoulder, but the sore was so fresh it was like the yala's teeth were still embedded in his skin.

He and the blob made it to the end of the pond and looked suspiciously ahead of the wide, open space before them. At the end of it was the finish line. Jacen knew there had to be more to it than that. Where were the spinning knives, the crushing machinery, the nek battle dogs? His whole body ached from riding the blob and the adrenaline that had coursed through him recently was starting to drain away, leaving him sluggish and weary. His back hurt liked nothing he'd ever experienced before. 

He just wanted to finish the stupid race.

All his expectations of the area were filled two seconds later as fire spouted from tiny holes on either side of him. The blob back peddled, not wanting to endure any more torture for the day. The problem was very apparent to Jacen. He couldn't move the blob fast enough to move past the fire. He refused to try to rolling trick again. 

He was stuck. 

Unless…

Jacen glanced behind him and saw the murky black liquid of the pond and an idea began to form in his mind. He decided it could work. 

Using the Force this time took more effort than it had before, he was tired and drained and the greedy, angry emotions of the crowd watching only leeched his energy more. He calmed his mind, remembered Tenel Ka was there for him at the end of the race, a thought which served to invigorate him slightly. As he pictured her face before his eyes, his sore muscles loosened and he sat up straighter, while behind him the entire mass of water from the pond rose ominously. Jacen carefully made sure there were no yala fish within it.

He carried the water till it was directly behind him, then he let go his control of the Force.

The sound of the water hitting the duracrete was like a tidal wave hitting a granite cliff face, booming and majestic. The torrent swirled around him and the blob, carrying Jacen was carried away within it. Fire streams tried to ignite as the water touched their pressure activation pads, but their heat only met the cool liquid and puffs of steam were all that resulted. Jacen side-slipped in the water to avoid the boulders and rocks that suddenly started raining down. (AN: Past the minotaur, faced with the giant. I'm evil. I have no life, basing SW on Greek myths.)

The flood of water was subsiding and Jacen pushed the blob to swim faster, paddling towards the finish line. The creature pushed itself to it's last limit, and struggled miserably onto the duracrete. Jacen didn't feel much better.

As if in vengence at an elusive prey, the obstacle course threw one final slight at him. Just as he crossed the finish line, a rock the size of his head made a solid, sickening sounding contact with his left elbow.

Jacen screamed at the unexpected pain and collasped on the other side of the finish line. He tried to nurse his arm, but the cuffs and cords that attached him to the blob's appendages prevented it. He could only moan in self-pity at the injustice of it all.

His last thought before he passed out from ache and exhaustion was, _I'm probably going to need that later._


	13. Just In Case

****

Chapter Thirteen: Just in Case

Tenel Ka was running as fast as her considerable strength would allow. She had eluded Kanortine and his guards for a moment and all she cared about was Jacen, and making sure he was okay.

She approached the exit bay where the race contestants were unattached from their blobs and the injured were loaded onto stretchers to be taken to the nearby hospital and quickly glanced around a corner. When she peeked cautiously into the large, open room, she saw Jacen being carried on a stretcher to a waiting landspeeder by two medics.

"Wait!" she called, rushing towards the vehicle as the team hoisted the unconscious body into the back.

One of the men glanced up and his eyes quickly took in her lizard hide armour, black, hooded Jedi cloak and the reptile skin boots that went up to her calves. His gaze stopped at her face, surrounded by its usual style of warrior braids, with a scrutinizing look.

"You his girlfriend?" the man asked bluntly.

Tenel Ka nodded vigourously.

"Hop in," the man offered.

She complied with her swift grace and the man closed the back doors of the speeder.

"Step on it Jo," the other medic ordered, "this one's a bleeder."

"What are his injuries?" Tenel Ka asked worriedly, looking at the still face of her closest friend.

"Broken arm, nasty bite on the shoulder, loss of blood, lots of bruises," the man looked like he could go on, but he stopped at the pained look on Tenel Ka's face.

"He'll be okay, provided we can get a blood donor right away," the man assured her.

Tenel Ka immediately replied, "I'll do it."

The man, who was trying to apply treatment to Jacen's wounds as he talked, spared her a curious glance.

"Hold on a sec sweetie, we don't even know if you've got the right blood type."

"I do," she answered, "I gave him blood two days ago when he was hurt in the gladiator fight."

The man stopped what he was doing and stared at her.

"Hey, you're the princess, aren't you? The one that's been on Kanortine's arm lately."

Tenel Ka bristled.

"Not by choice," she replied stiffly.

"Sorry," the man apologized.

Tenel Ka shook her head, "No matter, I am Tenel Ka."

"Stilker," the man grinned, giving her a blood-covered hand to shake, then returned to his administrations.

Tenel Ka observed them working for a moment before tentatively clearing her throat.

"I am aware this is your area of expertise," she explained, "But I might be able to help in other ways besides giving blood."

"Oh?" Stilker questioned in an amused tone.

Tenel Ka reached out her hand and put it on his forehead, closing her eyes in concentration and reaching out with the Force. Instantly, the life signs monitor that had been bleeping panickedly slowed down to a normal level.

Stilker's partner looked at her in amazement.

"How did you do that?" he asked.

Tenel Ka opened her eyes and turned her head regally, not removing her hand from Jacen's forehead.

"Jedi have a tendency to travel in groups," she replied evenly with a trace of humour.

At that moment, the commlink at Stilker's belt beeped insistently.

"Stilker here," he answered.

"Is Princess Tenel Ka D'jo there with you?" a familiar voice asked smoothly.

"Yes, your majesty, she is," Stilker answered uncertainly.

"Good," Kanortine said, "When she gets to the hospital, there will be a guard to escort her away."

"She isn't allowed to donate blood to the patient?" Stilker inquired bravely.

There was a pause.

"His injuries require that much attention? I was unaware. In that case, she has my leave to remain there."

There was a click as Kanortine cut the communications link.

"I do not need 'his leave' for anything," Tenel Ka growled under her breath.

Honestly, the nerve of that imposter, to put Jacen through hell like he was and then to be oblivious to the hurt it caused. Was it possible for a person to be that unfeeling?

Obviously, it was.

Stilker glanced at her regretfully, but he didn't comment and at that moment, they reached the hospital. They kicked open the door, grabbed the handles on the stretcher and hauled it out, turning on the repulsors when they were clear of the vehicle.

Though Tenel Ka didn't see much of the hospital as they rushed down halls and into turbolifts, she got the impression that the hospital here on Simileon was fairly busy. The intercom was going non-stop and the patient/doctor traffic in the halls should have been controlled by with speed limits and traffic lights.

When they got Jacen into a room, a doctor immediately rushed in, wheeling a machine with plastic tubes and the required large amount of buttons.

"You said you have the blood donor here?" the doctor asked hurriedly.

Tenel Ka stepped forward.

"Hey!" You just gave some to him two days ago, are you sure you want to do it again? You'll feel weak for days," the doctor cautioned.

"I can manage," Tenel Ka said stoically.

The doctor proceeded to hook the tubes up with needles in Jacen's forearm . Then she took a rather large needle and jabbed it into Tenel Ka's wrist, then attached another tube from the machine to the needle. In a few seconds, bright red blood start coursing through the contraption.

Tenel Ka sat in a chair beside the bed. Where Jacen had been moved and anxiously waited for him to wake-up.

Stilker flashed her a smile as he finished up and headed for the door.

"He'll be fine sweetie, don't worry," he remarked as he left.

Now Tenel Ka was left alone, wondering for a minute why on Coruscant anyone would call _her_ 'sweetie.' It didn't really matter, Stilker was just one of those nicer people.

She held Jacen's hand comfortingly in hers, then let it drop for a second as she brushed his hair out of his eyes. She leaned over to place a kiss softly on his forehead.

_Be alright Jacen, please be alright_.

__

The silence of the room was unbroken except for the regular chimes and beeps of the blood transfusion machine. Jacen's wounds were wrapped in bacta bandages and his arms was immobilized, lying across his chest.

Presently, a different doctor walked into the room and set the bones of the broken arm into a splint then enfolded the arm in a bacta cast.

"The bacta should heal the bones within two hours or so," the doctor mentioned to Tenel Ka before disappearing as quietly as he had come.

Tenel Ka sighed and leaned back in the chair, too tired from constant stress to move, but not drained enough to sleep.

After a few minutes, the first doctor entered again and unhooked the machine carefully, then bandaged where the needles had intruded in the skin. Tenel Ka had bit her lip last time she'd undergone the procedure, but now she only stared numbly at Jacen.

It was strange how misplaced one felt when one was in pain, whether it was your own or someone else's.

After what seemed like hours, Jacen stirred, murmuring feverishly and his eyelids blinking open. 

Tenel Ka moved from her chair to kneel beside the bed, bringing her hand up to his face and stroking it gently with her fingers.

"Tenel Ka?" Jacen asked in a hoarse voice, "Where am I? What happened to me?"  
"Ssh…" she whispered to him, "There is nothing to be concerned about."

Jacen tried to give a bitter-sounding laugh which turned out only as a hacking cough.

"Last I check I still had one more race left," Jacen said.

"Yes, there is that. But that is not the priority," Tenel Ka said softly, "You have to wait a few hours here, because your injuries haven't healed yet."

"What's wrong with me?" Jacen asked.

Tenel Ka considered telling him the ful extent of his injuries, but thought better it. He would be fine now, and hearing the worst wouldn't exactly boost his confidence before the last race. Besides, in comparison to the Gladiator fight, Jacen was in great form. He would never know how close he came to dying that day.

"You have a broken arm and some bruises. The bite has been taken care of," Tenel Ka assured him.

Jacen sat up gingerly and then gripped his forehead as dizziness overcame him. IN doing this he seemed to finally notice that his wrist was bandaged. His gaze flicked to Tenel Ka's hand and he reached out to touch the soiled cloth.

"Hey," he said uneasily, "You didn't hurt yourself did you? You didn't…"

"It was only a bit of blood," Tenel Ka said simply.

A range of emotions flashed across Jacen's face, anger, fear, pain, surprise and gratefulness. He settled with the last.

"Thank-you."

Tenel Ka smiled, "You're welcome."

She felt so relieved now that she could see for herself that he was alright. She'd felt frozen, like there was a ball of ice in her stomach and now it was slowly melting. There was still tension coiled wearily in her muscles, and she knew they weren't safe until Jacen won the last race, maybe not even then, and the fact there was only one left to go seemed to heighten the pressure.

Tenel Ka was drawn to him, as he sat there on the bed, his brown eyes tired, but glowing and the faint trace of a lopsided grin. He watched her adoringly, and her heart beat quickened slightly.

There really wasn't any point in holding back much longer, a voice inside of her pressed, and Tenel Ka knew it was true.

She leaned forward, closed her eyes and gently, because she knew he wasn't fully recuperated yet, covered his lips with her own.

The sound of someone clearing his throat brought both Jedi out of the kiss. They whirled around to see the doctor that had treated Jacen's arm standing in the doorway, a bemused look on his face.

"Glad to see you're feeling better," the doctor commented dryly.

Jacen laughed and Tenel Ka let her face go expressionless, the grim warrior princess once again.

The doctor unclipped the cast from Jacen's arm and then checked the cut on his shoulder.

"All better," the man said with an easygoing smile, "Kanortine contacted the hospital to tell you that the race will start within two standard hours. The escort is waiting outside the door."

Jacen rose laboriously, gripping Tenel Ka's arm for support which wasn't the wisest idea since she wasn't her strongest either.

There was a crash as they both fell to the floor in a heap, then a slight pause before Jacen burst out laughing. Tenel Ka was smiling widely.

"Please remove your elbow from my ear," Jacen joked, trying to disentangle himself from Tenel Ka.

"Jacen, it is impossible for the elbow to fit in the-"

"I know," he said with a smile, "Here."

He gave her a hand up and, much to her pleasure, a quick kiss before they tried walking again. This time they were able to make their way slowly to the door, and past it were six escorts, armed to the teeth as usual, and with forbidding expressions on their faces.

_They must still be upset that I eluded them_, Tenel Ka mused to herself with a bit of smugness.

__

Jacen and Tenel Ka were marched out of the hospital to a waiting luxury speeder. An escort opened the back door and they climbed in, only to be greeted by Kanortine, who was now sitting across from them. In between the groups was a table packed with food .

"So pleased you could join me," Kanortine drawled, "I thought you might enjoy refreshment before you race?"

"I won't say no to that," Jacen answered calmly and served himself up. Tenel Ka followed suit. The energy their bodies had lost had to be replenished somehow, even if it came from a despised host.

By the time they'd finished, the speeder had reached the hangar bay for the next race. After exiting the speeder, the guards found them again and latched on while Jacen and Tenel Ka fought through the bustling crowds to the interior of the complex.

Tenel Ka didn't understand what she was feeling at first. Every breath she inhaled felt painful, like she couldn't take in too much, or it would rip her lungs open. Her stomach was shifting, churning, making her feel nauseous and sick. A fever seemed to come over her, making her skin hot and prickly. She struggled to keep walking with her head upright and her back straight.

Jacen turned to her and his eyes told her he knew what she was feeling. He reached out and gripped her hand tightly, seeking to reassure her. His skin was still pale, so very white and weak looking.

When they reached the door to the bay where the vehicles were kept, Jacen stopped, not keying the access code or making any move to open the door.

"Hey," he said to the guards who were standing a few meters behind them, "Can you give us a minute?"

The guards exchanged glances, but they nodded and started walking back.

Jacen put his hands on Tenel Ka's shoulders and looked into her eyes, the brandy-brown sinking into sea gray.

"I know this is going to be a hard one," Jacen said. It was all he had to say.

Tenel Ka nodded, keeping her face expressionless, but struggling against the tightening in her throat that threatened to overwhelm her.

"But don't worry," he told her, "I can do it."  
She inclined her head again, blinking her eyes to keep back the salty tears that were forming.

"And just in case I don't," Jacen continued with a smile.

He didn't say anything else. He tilted her chin slightly with his right hand, then tilted his lips down to meet hers. Then he stepped closer to her and wrapped his other arm around her waist to pull her against him. She snaked her arm around his neck and just let him kiss her. She wanted to keep him here so that he'd be safe, but the seconds ticked away and they let go.

"I love you Jacen," she blurted as he pressed the access buttons on the door and stepped through.

"I know," he smiled as the door closed between them.

Tenel Ka understood what she was feeling now.

It was called fear.


	14. Baby Cool Your Jets

****

AN: Well, I finally broke twenty in the reviews section. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you have no idea how encouraging that is!

Now, you're probably going to hate me for the cliffhanger, but the next one is coming up soon!

Chapter Fourteen: Baby Cool Your Jets

On a scale of one to ten, Jacen would have to say that this race rated about a nine. Especially in comparison to the other races, which could be unnessicarily complex, like the gladiator fight or the blob racing. Here, it was simple, exciting, and recklessly fast-paced.

It also offered a quick death.

His comlink gave the signal and Jacen was allowed to lift his modified A-wing starfighter of the ground. He felt loose, comfortable in a pilot's seat thanks to the frequent space travel and accessibility to space ships during his childhood, though he still wish Jaina were in his place now instead of him, she'd make the other contestants eat space dust.

The A-wing, one of the fastest Rebel Alliance fighters ever, stripped of it's shielding and weaponry, was nevertheless impressive as it sailed gracefully into position at the starting point. The race track would wind along between the beacons that marked the course, which was on the same orbital plane as the planet of Simileon. Jacen looked to his left and saw Nektir the Rodian and Shoba the Trandoshan, both fairly tough and mean-looking, the kind of scum that wandered around slimy back-water planets armed to the teeth, searching for trouble. On the right of him was a scary-looking female Zabrak with black and violet tattoos, who went by the name of Kotha Ethos. Lastly, there was a Bothan called Drae'esk, a fierce, mangy looking fighter with a deep scar along his skull.

Jacen knew there was a story behind every face, a meaning to every glance and that every smile held some pain. It was interesting to just look at these contestants and wonder how they had come to be where they were, why they risked their lives, and what they were racing for. Did they have a loved one they needed the winnings for? Was there a bounty on their heads that they just had to pay off?

It was difficult to be empathetic in some ways, because one could never feel truly competitive. 

The sooner he finished the better, and the safer both he and Tenel Ka would be.

He started his engines and held his hand lightly on the control stick as the countdown began, his thoughts still drifting from his study of his competitors and to the warrior princess who was waiting for him to finish this race so she could say good-bye to a dying relative.

He held onto the images of her as he let the memories calm him.

_Five_…

__

The day around the time Lowbacca first came, when Tenel Ka had dropped into the throne room by her grappling hook and fibrecord, the morning sun of Yavin highlighting her red-gold hair.

_Four…_

The smile that she gave when she made her first joke to him after the defeat of the Shadow Academy on Yavin IV. The smile that lit her entire face and opened her heart to him. He loved her smile.

_Three…_

Her face turned white with cold, gazing up to the crystal stars on the freezing, hellish snowstorm of the cold side of Ryloth.

_Two…_

The look of happiness that had crossed her face when he had presented her with the necklace made of pink gnort egg crystal on the day of graduation.

_One…_

And in an instant of clarity, he saw her clear gray eyes, filled with passion and fear, brimmed with tears as she had promised him that she loved him.

It was the best start possible. Almost before the last syllable had sounded in the prissy computer voice, Jacen had ignited the thrusters and shot like a rocket away from the starting line, outpacing all of his competitors.

Tenel Ka paced back and forth in her room, watching the view screen intently. Her arm was set on her hip and her mouth was the personification of seriousness. She should probably be resting, she knew, because of the blood donation, but she certainly wasn't going to sit on her butt while Jacen did all the work.

She held her breath as the computer counted down, and let it out in a gasp as Jacen gunned the engines and took off milleseconds faster than anyone else, giving him the upper hand for the beginning of the race. In second was Nektir the Rodian and in third was Shoba the Trandoshan. The Zabrak female and Bothan male trailed close behind, vying for position. The group rounded a curb and Kotha weaseled into the space between Shoba and Drae'esk. Meanwhile up ahead, Nektir was so close on Jacen's tail that the A-wings seemed to bump against one another, jarring and shaking the shieldless crafts.

Tenel Ka could only stare at the view screen now, she sat down on the corner of the bed without taking her eyes away. Her hand gripped the coverlet until her fingers grew cramped and sore.

The A-wing was truly one of the fastest and most maneuverable starfighters ever built and it showed as the racers jostled, deked and dodged one another, a deadly dance of speed and agility.

Jacen was still maintaining his lead, though Nektir continued to rag on him and the Zabrak moved in on the trandoshan Shoba, preparing to make a break for it. 

Jacen gripped the handle harder as he struggled to avoid being completely flattened by the vicious Rodian behind him. Every bump against the hull and Jacen was thrown forward, the control stick hitting him in the sternum and knocking the wind out of him. He felt as if the cockpit didn't have enough air, that he was going to suffocate if the barrage didn't relent soon. He stretched out with the Force, and the next time he felt the Rodian preparing to jump on him, he pushed his control stick down so that his fighter sunk a few meters and the Rodian's craft nearly tumbled end over end in an attempt to knock Jacen out of commission.

He nudged the control stick slightly to the right, then immediately pushed it all the way to the left. The Rodian took the bait and went right, which flew him straight into the path of the beacon marking the race course, and the starfighter erupted into shrapnel and tiny metal pieces.

Tenel Ka stood up to pace again when she saw the explosion happen. Being in movement had always been soothing to her, as if her body wasn't supposed to stand still, which was one of the things that made her so athletic and strong.

She watched as the Zabrak, Kotha, finally made her move, squeezing into the space that Nektir had vacated, but Shoba still held the same distance from Jacen. Kotha brushed against the Trandoshan slightly and then he finally showed some reaction, wrenching to the side to avoid the scratching of wingtip to wingtip.

Shoba managed to keep the craft under control and avoid the same fate as Nektir, at the same time succeeding in keeping a composure and not looking shaken.

Her breath caught in Tenel Ka's chest as she saw the Trandoshan and the Zabrak both close in on either side of Jacen.

If he felt claustrophobic before, Jacen was feeling suffocated now. A sharp curve was ahead, and he bit his lip so hard it bled as he swiftly executed a barrel roll to the right, moving with the course, staying at the head of the pack. He was leaning forward in his seat, pushing the control stick as far as he could take it forward, as if his own physical strength could somehow make the starfighter move faster. He juked to the left as another sharp turn presented itself, then swung the controls back to the right as the course swerved yet again.

He felt a sharp bump from behind him, and a quick glance behind him showed that the female Zabrak was moving in on his territory, so close to him that he could see her face in the cockpit, driven and ferocious, bent on winning.

Jacen gritted his teeth and shunted all the A-wing's energy to the shields, trying to accelerate the craft just a little bit faster.

He sensed more bends in the race track up ahead, so when the course widen out momentarily, Jacen threw the starfighter into a wide spiral, that circled smaller and smaller. The g-forces slammed into his chest and winded him, but the spiral served to get the other competitors off his back for a moment and to make a smooth turn to the right as he exited the last loop.

He spared a quick peek at the data screen in front of him as he swiveled the controls back and forth to keep up with the twisting course he was taking. He groaned and disappointment swept through him as he saw that both Kotha and Shoba were still right on his tail.

__

Time to execute one of those briliant plans you're famous for, Jacen told himself sarcastically.

He racked his brain frantically and finally settled on some thing that could work.

Hitting the etheric rudder just a tiny bit, Jacen slowed the A-wing down so that it was nearly the same speed as the other two craft. He let them both meander towards him, until they were almost rubbing against him, the reckless need to win drowning out all sense and safety instincts.

Quite suddenly, Jacen slammed hard on the braking thrusters, and Kotha and Shoba didn't react fast enough to prevent the inevitable. Their A-wings careened towards each other and met in an incandescent ball of light, raining bits of metal against Jacen's craft as he hit his engines again and soared through the cloud of debris.

Tenel Ka narrowed her eyes at the screen and took a few more deep breaths to quench her growing impatience. Jacen was nearly to the end, and he had just eliminated most of his competition. Only Drae'esk, the Bothan remained, and he had been in last place.

But when Jacen had brought his A-wing to such an abrupt halt, it had cost him precious hundredths of a second. Drae'esk had gained on him slightly and both pilots were locked in a vicious duel to the death over who crossed the finish line first.

It was a truly amazing sight to see, if one subtracted the fact that it was her loved one racing for his life. The two starfighters streaked through the race course, following the twists, bends, turns and curves seemingly effortlessly. They vied and jockied for the lead position, sometimes hitting each other, but mostly continued racing forward in flowing, graceful flight.

She sighed and counted to ten in her head while holding her breath, closing her eyes. It was a Jedi relaxation technique that she'd learned in her very early days at the academy. She used it before writing a test or when she was deeply frustrated and needed to hype down.

When she felt she was in control of her self again, Tenel Ka opened her eyes slowly, not wanting to let her eyes stray for a moment from the final, decisive minutes of the race.

And what she saw when her gaze met the screen again left her breathless…

Jacen could taste tiresome defeat and golden victory at the same time, so close was he to both.

The nose of his A-wing was almost even with Drae'esk, who Jacen had found to be one of those players who waits till the end to make his move.

Maybe it was desperation, or maybe it was the toll that non-stop action had taken on his body over the past few days. Either way, Drae'esk suddenly moved forward and Jacen was behind him, struggling to close the breach again.

It was not to be.

For a moment, there was a glimmer of hope. Jacen and Drae'esk were rounding one of the last curves in the race course and Drae'esk's A-wing was listing slightly to the side.

The two opponents round a right turn and Jacen was pressed tight against the markers that made a wall, trying to squeeze past Drae'esk like Kotha had done to the Bothan at the beginning of the race.

At first, Jacen thought that the Bothan was only trying to stick close to the markers so that Jacen couldn't get past. Then he thought that maybe the Bothan really did have a damaged ship and that he was going to crash into the markers like Nektir.

No such luck.

In fact, the Bothan only brought his ship close enough to the markers so that the edge of one wing tip seemed to brush against the side. 

The alarms and proximity warning suddenly went haywire in Jacen's cockpit and before he could even comprehend what was causing the commotion, he saw something sailing towards him outside of the canopy.

A small cylinder shaped object, bigger than a lightsaber, but small enough to hold in the palm of your hand, that was silver plated with protrusions sticking out in random places was coming his way.

Jacen knew what it was.

He had seen Jaina use one countless times to keep something safely shut down while she worked on a bit of machinery on a ship.

An ion charge.

The charge hit his A-wing and Jacen both felt and saw the blue lightning-like bolts splay across the surface of his vehicle. The effects were instantaneous and his ship was suddenly just drifting, completely helpless in space, stopped.

Thus Jacen watched in horror as his enemy crossed the finish point ahead of him.


	15. Take a Hit and Leave

****

Chapter Fifteen: Take a Hit and Leave

Before Tenel Ka could start to recover from the shock of Jacen's loss, there was a loud pounding at the double doors of her bedroom. Tenel Ka rose, expecting the worst, but she didn't take two steps when the person gave up waiting and barged in.

It was Moneeq, her blond hair loose but neat and her outfit as immaculate as always, looking very scared, but determined. She closed the door and crossed the room to Tenel Ka. In her hand she held a small satchel, with it's contents unknown, and she held it out to Tenel Ka.

"Here," Moneeq said, "It has the two lightsabers, an access card to the nearest hangar and a datapad with codes to get out of the building. The guard droids are still waiting outside this door.

Had it been a different person than Tenel Ka, surprise or shock might have registered on her face, but it was not in Tenel Ka's nature to be expressive, so the warrior girl only nodded and took the bag. She looked straight into Moneeq's eyes and addressed her bluntly.

"Why?" she asked the fashion assistant.

Moneeq's face dissolved into sadness and her voice quavered when she next spoke.

"There was a fiancé of mine… He wanted to win the prize money for the races… I told him not to do it, but I guess the temptation was too strong. He died in the swoop bike race around this time last year," Moneeq's crystal blue eyes started to fill with tears, and she sniffed loudly, then looked back to Tenel Ka with brave face, "I just didn't want anyone else to lose someone they care about..."

Tenel Ka's normally grim demeanor was overcome with sympathy, she reached out and put her hand on Moneeq's shoulder.

"Thank-you my friend, I wish you the best," Tenel Ka said quietly, and then took her rancor tooth lightsaber out of the black bag.

"Good-bye Princess," Moneeq said with a bow.

Tenel Ka nodded and then walked swiftly towards the set of doors.

They opened into her room, so kicking them open was not an option, she'd have to be more subtle than that. Tenel Ka hated subtlety. She was tired of sulking around, waiting while Jacen risked his life and did all the dangerous work. She was tired of being caged up, dressed up like a doll and shown about without any dignity. Most of she hated not being active.

It was time to seriously kick some ass.

Tenel Ka opened the door and ignited her lightsaber, bringing it to bear. The light in the hallway was bright and the trappings were elegant. The guard droids, who had been stand with their backs against the walls on either side of the door, swiveled their blaster barrels to face her.

Tenel Ka just smiled.

Then the guard droids opened fire and she somersaulted forward, avoiding the blaster bolts and landing neatly in the middle of the hallway. She summoned the Force and with a flick of her wrist, she crashed the two droids into each other and ran in the opposite direction of the resulting blast. She knew her way down to the landspeeder hangar from her excursions out into the city and to the races with Kanortine and she had a good sense of direction.

Tenel Ka stretched out her senses a bit and discovered that Kanortine had posted guards at every corner and intersection of hallways. She smiled again because she knew this wouldn't be a problem. As she rounded the first turn, the bored and slightly sleepy guard sprang to attention, his mouth open in shock.

He started to reach for his comlink to alert the rest of the building.

Tenel Ka couldn't let that happen now, could she?

His hand was stopped halfway to the communications device as Tenel Ka aimed a sharp side kick directly into his stomach. It was obviously unexpected, because he doubled over in pain, but to his credit and training, he straightened up again and started to advance towards her, his hand in the combat stance.

Not wanting to spill blood with her lightsaber, Tenel Ka made a quick decision and brought her leg up in another deft kick. The sword of her foot slammed into his head and the man dropped to the ground like a stone, unconscious.

Tenel Ka quickly took her leave of the place and raced down the length of the hallway. The guard at the next corner was more devoted to duty and must have heard her coming for he was already bringing forward a blaster and taking aim when she sprinted into sight.

Tenel Ka's arm moved in a graceful, practiced motion as her lightsaber deflected the load of bolts aimed accurately at her head and chest. The fire rebounded off her lightsaber and hit the aggressor, making him hit the wall as he fell backward.

Tenel Ka walked to the turbo lift and entered in the basement number, then stepped in calmly but did not turn of her lightsaber. She checked the satchel holding Jacen's and the access card now attached to her utility belt. She wished for two arms just so that she could put both Jedi weapons to use right now. Maybe she would be able to anyway. By now she was sure that security holocams or the noise of blasters had alerted Kanortine's guards to her escape and as the turbo lift descended sixty stories, she prepared to meet resistance when she stopped.

She was not disappointed.

When the door opened on the basement floor, she emerged to find herself surrounded by twenty armed guards.

Tenel Ka smiled again.

Jacen frantically pushed at the buttons and controls of the A-wing, knowing a way to get the vehicle started again, a way that Jaina had showed him a long time ago and he barely remembered. He channeled Force energy to aid his task, increasing his focus and heightening his awareness of the craft, down to the last rivet.

He was rewarded with a sick puff of the thrusters and the lighting up of his control board. He didn't have much time, but maybe if he was lucky he could breach the atmosphere of the planet and then go EV.

He rolled to the right side and sped downward towards the surface of the planet, the gravity pulling him in, but the atmosphere resisting and unimaginable friction turning the outside of his ship molten red and bringing the temperature in the cockpit somewhere between sweltering and life-threatening. Sweat streamed down the sides of his face and into his eyes, hot and salty, making Jacen desperate to open the canopy for need of a cool breeze.

Just as he cleared the most minimally safe level, the thrusters quit and Jacen felt himself lose any previous control over the craft. He tried his best to even it out a bit, but without much success, even with the Force as his guide. At last he just gave in and punched the evacuation button, punching him out of the A-wing and into a dangerous free fall that was only slightly remedied by the EV chair's steering boosters.

As the security forces with the quickest reflexes fired the first shots, Tenel Ka catapulted into action. She flipped high into the air and landed by pushing her feet into the chest of the slowest reacting armed guard, stamping him into the duracrete. She whirled around to face the blaster shots that had rapidly changed direction and her hand and lightsaber was a blur as she extended it to deflect every shot that came marginally close. Two opponents that were closest to her threw down their blasters and charged towards her, one from the left and one from the right. Tenel Ka jumped straight upwards and executed the splits in midair, so that each foot hit their heads at precisely the same time. Meanwhile, she kept deflecting the blaster fire towards her. Tenel Ka advanced to the right, cut the blaster of the nearest person right in half and then swung and connected her elbow to the woman's chin with a bone-cracking force.

The woman crumpled at Tenel Ka's feet.

A loud Dathomiri warrior curse erupted from her throat as she swung her lightsaber quickly six times in succession as she ran forward, slicing off the ends of the blasters in her way and using the Force to knock the people to the ground.

One man, an angry wild look in his eyes, appeared in front of her, his blaster nowhere to be seen and his arms stretched out for her neck, intending to chock her to death. Tenel threw her lightsaber up into the air, then slammed her fist right into the center of the man's face. He fell to the ground with blood streaming out of his nose and Tenel Ka deftly caught her lightsaber as the weapon came back down to her.

Before she could implement the sudden idea that had occurred to her with this action, the remainder of the security was in her face, blocking her way, throwing punches and kicks and looking as enraged as a pack of neks. Abandoning her quest not to spill blood, Tenel Ka sparred a few well-timed kicks in the gut, then swung her lightsaber in a circular motion, causing varying degrees of injury and probably some deaths.

Tenel Ka then ran towards one of the speeders nearby, and didn't even bother opening the door, but hopped in and gunned the engines, then sped towards the exit of the hangar. She grabbed the datapad Moneeq had supplied in the bag then punched the codes it offered into the access pad. The door opened and Tenel Ka revved the engines again, preparing to make full use of the plentiful fuel cells.

Jacen fell towards Simileon, occasionally using the thrusters on the chair to steer himself or keep the chair steady. It was a relief to be out of the cockpit, but it was kind of a "out of the frying-pan into the fire" situation, because he found himself hurting towards the ground at a tremendous speed.

Jacen recognized the Tuwan mountain range that he had been spending so much time around to the east of him, and Ruswin was up ahead. It didn't look like he would be able to drift towards the city, it was too far away, but maybe he could land in the forest.

Fast, much too fast, the tops of the trees came hurtling towards him. He braced himself, and used the Force to slow down his speed. The branches of green foliage slapped at his face and whipped at his arms and legs, stinging painfully but so far there weren't any huge limbs that he might break his neck on. Jacen used the final bit of energy left in the thrusters, then unstrapped himself and jumped out of the chair, falling a few meters to a soft bed of fallen leaves. He looked around at the quiet woods, recognizing the giant trees he'd drove a pod-racer through not too long ago. 

The question for him now was, how was he supposed to get out of this forest and to the city to rescue Tenel Ka? He reached out for her in the Force and found a maelstrom of excitement and energy and he surmised that somehow, she didn't need to be rescued. He tried to reach out to her further, to tell her where he was. Words were hard, sometimes he took telepathy for granted because it was so easy with Jaina or even Anakin. He often forgot that Jedi couldn't always just speak mind to mind. Encountering this obstacle, he painted images of the forest and his chair rushing towards them, and the position in relation to Ruswin. An outpouring of trust and relief flowed into him and he knew she'd understood. With that in mind, he checked the sun to get his bearings straight, then started walking in the direction of Ruswin. He might as well give her a head start.

Tenel Ka was driving the speeder along without any resistance when she felt Jacen contact her through the Force. Her first feeling was satisfaction that Jacen wasn't hurt, followed by concern as to where he could be. Now she had a pretty good idea where he was and if she was careful, she could reach him in time. She sped through the city, expecting a garrison at any moment but encountering no armed forces. Tenel Ka had a good memory of how to get to the ship hangar was, remembering the route from when she and Jacen were escorted from the _Rancor Tooth_ to Kanortine's palace.

She reached the building and jumped lightly from the landspeeder, then walked calmly over to the doors. To open them she grabbed her access card and swiped it along keypad, then stuffed the card back and took out her lightsaber. As the doors swished open, she ignited the turquoise blade.

What she found waiting for her was thirty blaster weapons leveled in her direction.

With a smirk Tenel Ka stretched out with the Force, the power coming easily with practice and skill. A tendril of invisible energy yanked the weapons out of her opponents' hands and all thirty weapons crashed against a hangar wall. Most were smashed on contact, so now she could fight the cronies fist to fist.

Ten of them stepped forward, preparing to make a ring around her, and Tenel Ka swung her lightsaber in front of her much like a person waves a fan to keep off a swarm of insects. She took a deep breath, allowing the Force to course through her body, then she sprang into motion.

Her feet were a blur as she somersaulted through the air, her lightsaber twirling in perfect synchronization. She took out the closest two with a snap kick to the head and a jab in the heart from her blade. There were four people coming in from different directions and Tenel Ka threw her lightsaber up into the air above her, then grabbed Jacen's from the open sack. She ignited his, and thrust it out behind her, at the same time arching backwards with her leg, making the top half of her body bend forward and producing the effect of a horizontal plane. Her foot caught one enemy in the ribs while Jacen's lightsaber cut another man's wind pipe. Tenel Ka planted her foot on the ground again, swinging her arm forward and throwing Jacen's lightsaber up in the air and catching her own, which was coming down at her precisely planned second. She cut the arm off the man that reached her first and kicked with her left leg, connecting her foot to the fourth man's chin and snapping his head backwards.

She twirled around to face the next opponents, juggling the two lightsabers with her one hand, punching, kicking, spinning and all so quickly that you could scarcely see her move. Tenel Ka had been trained by the best unarmed combat experts as well as the best armed combat experts her wealthy parents could afford. Her fighting technique mixed Hapan kick-boxing, Dathomiri warrior arts, Jedi lightsaber skill and the grace of a natural athlete. Without weapons, none of the guards stood a chance and within minutes, most of them lay groaning, bleeding, dismembered or dead on the duracrete. With a satisfied sigh, she caught Jacen's lightsaber from it's rotation in midair, clicked it off, stuffed it in the bag, then reached up and grabbed hers from it's cycle and stowed it along side Jacen's.

She surveyed the docking bay unhurriedly, then picked a ship with the least scorch marks on its hull. Using the access card again, she let down the ramp then ran to the cockpit. It only took a minute to get the ship ready for take-off and when she was sure everything was ready she turned on the repulsor-lifts, making the ship smoothly rise up from the hangar. 

All of her focus was on finding Jacen and getting off the planet, but she wasn't too absorbed to miss the bleeps symbolizing other ships that suddenly appeared on her sensors. There weren't any alarms, of course, because they were marked as friendly ships, but Tenel Ka knew they were coming after her. She coaxed all the speed she could out of the ship, flying out of Ruswin and towards the forest. At the same time she was extending her perception of the Force, trying to pinpoint Jacen in the mess of trees and plant growth. He must have felt her, because he suddenly flared into her awareness. His position might as well have been marked with neon signs and she knew exactly where he was.

She slowed the ship down and extended the landing ramp, then descended carefully between the trees. When she heard Jacen striding towards the cockpit, she closed the ramp and blasted as quickly as she could out of there, the proximity of the pirate fighters nagging at her.

Jacen came running into the cabin, breathless, but smiling and he sat down in the seat next to her, and quickly leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.

"Thanks for the save!" he exclaimed jokingly.

"Your gratefulness may expire when you see what is chasing us," Tenel Ka said with a smile.

Jacen glanced at the sensor boards and inhaled sharply.

"Sithspawn!" he cursed.

"We can out run them," Tenel Ka pointed out calmly.

They cleared the atmosphere in a matter of seconds and streaked out into space, seeking to leave the planet's gravity shadow behind and go to hyperspace.

Jacen fed the coordinates from the navi-computer and Tenel Ka prepared for the abrupt acceleration as his hand hit the hyperspace control and pushed it forward.

Nothing happened.

"It's not my fault!" Jacen exclaimed in surprise.

Tenel Ka looked at the control with wide eyes.

"Jacen," she said in a voice that finally betrayed some fear, "I do not think this ship has a hyperdrive."

"You took the only ship in the docking bay that didn't have a hyperdrive!" Jacen repeated incredulously, "Blast it!"

Tenel Ka's attention was turned away from this dire predicament at the sound of an enemy ship approaching. She quickly scanned the sensors and then gasped in surprise.

"Jacen!" she burst out, "They have the _Rancor Tooth_!"

"What!" he cried, leaning over to look at the screen, "They do! But how does that help us?"

Not bothering to answer, Tenel Ka gestured he take the controls then dropped to the floor and started pulling wires and reattaching them.

"Um, Tenel?" Jacen cleared his throat timidly, "What are you doing?"

"There's a shut down code for the _Rancor Tooth_," Tenel Ka explained impatiently, ripping open a wire and plugging it into a different hole, "Usually it's for emergencies where your hyperdrive or sublight engines are malfunctioning and are about to go critical, destroying the ship. As a precaution, this code shuts down all the engines and systems at once, but doesn't damage anything in the process."

"Yes, but what are you doing?" Jacen asked, still not understanding.

Tenel Ka seemed to finish what she was doing, and stood up, then rapidly typed a sequence into one of the keyboards. She gave a satisfied smirk as the blip that represented the _Rancor Tooth_ rapidly began to slow down.

"You see, Jacen my friend, I am merely implementing the code externally," Tenel Ka said in a pleased tone, "Now hurry towards my ship, so we can board it."

Jacen complied, zooming back towards the enemy fighters, which immediately started firing on the ship. Using all the pilot skills he'd been honing the past few days and anticipating the fighters movements through the Force, Jacen deftly avoided the laser fire. They reached the _Rancor Tooth_ and he slid easily into position next to it and latched on.

They raced through the corridors of their current ship and Tenel Ka handed Jacen his lightsaber as they reached the outer door.

Wordlessly, they both ignited their blades, hers a dazzling turquoise and his a magnificent emerald.

They heard the hiss of pressurized air as the door opened and they stepped through. The pirate pilot and co-pilot stood waiting with smug looks on their faces. Tenel Ka didn't spare them a second look, but kicked the closest one swiftly in the groin and batted his blaster out of his hands. She slammed the end of her elbow to his chin and gave a satisfied sound as the man collapsed. Jacen had merely punched his opponent in the head with a strong right hook, so he and Tenel Ka dragged the unconscious bodies into the pirate's ship, then sealed the hatch again. As they did so they heard loud thuds start to hit the hull of the _Rancor Tooth_ and they hustled towards the cockpit. The pirates had probably figured out who was in each ship by now and were bombarding Jacen and Tenel Ka with laser cannon fire.

Tenel Ka strapped herself without fuss into the pilot seat, then reached under the control panel and pulled back on the metal conductor hidden there.

Jacen gave her a funny look as the ship suddenly started up again.

"Every code has a reversal," Tenel Ka shrugged, then brought the shields online. As soon as the engines were ready, she hits the thrusters and they rocketed away from the conflict. This time, when Jacen pulled the hyperspace control, the stars ran together in lines and white engulfed the window. They were free.


	16. Epilogue: Here With Me

****

Epilogue: Here With Me

Tenel Ka exited the shadowed doorway to a balcony on the fortress of the Singing Mountain Clan. Tears were running down her cheeks, but her heart was unburdened. Augwynne had left this world and become one with the Force, and after the songs of mourning would come celebrations and rejoicing.

Jacen stood on the balcony, staring out across the forest and mountains, his face dreamy and far away. She smiled slightly at this and wiped the tears out of her eyes, then crossed the few meters between them.

Jacen came out of his reverie as she reached his side and took her hand in his, caressing her skin softly with his thumb and sending tingles up her arm. He turned his head to grin at her, obviously sensing her sadness.

"Well," he said after some silence, "We got out of that alive and we made it here in time. Not bad for a couple of young Jedi Knights that have a habit of getting into trouble."

Tenel Ka nodded, "I wonder what Kanortine had to say about our escape."

Jacen smiled devilishly, "I can just see his face… and then he would say in that really superior tone, 'Well, that's Jedi for you.' I hope we never run into him again, he'd be after our blood."

"I made sure that he received my opinion of his hospitality before I left," Tenel Ka said with a slight smirk, remembering all the guards she'd gotten past.

Jacen laughed, and then said in a more serious tone, "I hope Moneeq was alright. That was a very brave act she did."

Solemnly, Tenel Ka inclined her head.

When the silence wore on, Jacen spoke up again, "So what will we do now?"

Tenel Ka considered for a moment, "I am not taking a Master at this time, but I will be going on a mission with Rachel and Ami Taren, Jex Midanyl, and maybe Jovan Drak, the Rodian. And you?"

"I'm not sure," Jacen said with a shrug, "There's always some new kind of plan hatching, and I think Uncle Luke has booked an appointment with the New Republic committee to discuss establishing a Jedi Council."

Jacen hesitated for a moment, "That reminds me, it isn't public yet, but Mom's retiring from the Chief of State position tomorrow."

"Ah, aha," Tenel Ka mused, "That is good. She has worked long and hard and needs a vacation."

Jacen grimaced, "Yeah right, like my mom will ever really take a vacation. Something always happens and then her, Dad, and Uncle Luke have to save the galaxy."

They laughed together and then continued to gaze out at the horizon. The sky was the purest blue and the beauty of Dathomir took all breath away. A gentle wind whipped at Tenel Ka's hair and Jacen moved closer to put her arm around her, making them both feel warm and safe. The future was unknown for them, but with love, everything seemed more certain.

__

At the beginning of Dark Tide I: Ruin…

The image on the holoprojector was blue and fuzzy, but the facial features were unmistakable. Tenel Ka glanced at her co-pilot, the Rodian Jovan Drak, and the girl in the navigator's seat, Rachel Taren.

The person in the hologram was Jacen and since it had been addressed only to her at the beginning, without any of her titles, Jedi or royal, she assumed it was private. Which meant that she couldn't possibly take it in front of the two other occupants of the cabin of the _Rancor Tooth._

"Please route it to my room," Tenel Ka said to Jovan, "I can take it in there. I am confident you and Rachel can put the ship down safely."

Jovan's alien face didn't so much emotion, but Rachel's eyes sparkled with mirth and she flashed Tenel Ka an impish grin as she left the cockpit.

When Tenel Ka had closed the door to her chambers, she pressed the button on her holounit and Jacen's figure came to life. She sat down on the bed to listen.

"Hey Tenel," his image said, flashing her a grin, "I suppose you've heard a bit about the conflict at Helsa IV and Durbillion, but it probably isn't very accurate, you know how stories change. Anyway, you probably won't get this message until right before you get to Yavin IV, but just so you know, we'll be deciding what to do about it."

Jacen paused for a second before continuing.

"It seems like forever since I've seen you, and I hope we can get some time alone before the big meeting starts. I'll be waiting for you at the landing pad. Good-bye."

Tenel Ka sighed happily as the message ended. It had been months since she'd seen Jacen and as much as she'd enjoyed kicking around the galaxy with two goofballs like Jovan Drak and Rachel Taren, she missed Jacen so much sometimes that there developed a tight feeling in her chest.

She felt the ship hit the ground and she leaped up off the bed and out of her room, just about colliding with Rachel as she raced down the ramp. The Jedi girl from Commenor only laughed good-naturedly. The gravity change hardly affected Tenel Ka, but as she saw the other people clustered around the landing pad for their arrival she slowed to a stately walk. Jacen was there, grinning widely at her, but behind him, there were some friends of Jovan, Rachel's sisters, Sorka and Ami, not too mention Jaina, Anakin, Raynar, Lusa, and Lowbacca.

All seemed happy their comrades back, but Jacen finally cut the greetings and requests for stories short by saying he had something to see Luke about before the big meeting began. He took Tenel Ka's hand and led her away from the crowd, heading for the Temple. When they were inside however, Jacen didn't take the proper corridors to Luke's office, but the direction of the Jedi dormitories.

"Jacen?" Tenel Ka asked in a puzzled manner.

He put his finger to his lips and continued walking quickly towards his room. They reached it and he yanked her by the arm into it and then closed the door behind them.

The first thing he did was slip both of his arms around her and kiss her with great fervor on the mouth and she didn't object one bit. She'd missed him over the months, his jokes, his laughter, his company, his smile and she'd especially missed this. She kissed him back and looped her arm around his neck, stepping as close as possible and allowing everything else to fade from her mind.

Jacen finally broke off, breathless, and moved to kissing her neck heatedly, tightening his hold around her as if to keep her from escaping him for so long again.

Reluctantly, he finally stepped an arm's length away from her and regarded her with his thoughtful brown eyes.

"I really missed you," he admitted sheepishly.

Tenel Ka smiled, "I missed you as well."

Jacen sighed and slumped as he caught sight of the chrono sitting on his desk.

"I actually do have to meet with Uncle Luke now, but maybe I can see you again after he's done this big audience that we're having."

"Perhaps," Tenel Ka conceded, and felt rather bad at the thought of not seeing him again for a while.

He opened the door again and he hugged her briefly before they stepped through.

"I will save you a place in the throne room," Tenel Ka called as he moved away.

Jacen grinned and nodded before dissappearing around the corner.

Tenel Ka sighed to herself and shook her head slightly as she walked towards her own room on this floor.

Before Jacen left for Belkadan with Luke the next day, he met Tenel Ka on the roof of the Great Temple, giving her a kiss on the cheek and embracing her tightly. Tenel Ka soaked up the senses of him, saving them to use while they were separated for indefinite lengths of time.

"Tenel Ka," Jacen began, looking seriously into her eyes, "I know it might be awhile before I see you again, but I love you, you know that, and I'll always manage to make it back to you. Everything seems so dangerous now, so I just want to say… be careful okay? These Yuuzhan Vong aren't your average bad guy."

"If you are careful, then I will be careful Jacen. Do not concern yourself over me," Tenel Ka said solemnly.

"Yeah right," Jacen muttered, but he grinned at her, "Don't do anything I wouldn't, keep your ship in good shape… oh, you know all that. Just stay alive okay? I don't want to imagine life without you."

"Neither would I," Tenel Ka smiled.

Jacen kissed her one last time, then he whispered, "I love you," and strode away, with Tenel Ka looking worriedly after him. Somehow she knew he would get himself in trouble again, and she would probably be on the other side of the galaxy. It made her uneasy, but in times like this, there was no simple solution and everyone had to make sacrifices.

She had to hold on and trust in the Force and things would turn out all right in the end.

Forty Miles from the Sun

__

There is nowhere left to hide,

There is nothing to be done,

No people to be saved,

No pets we've never named

40 miles from the sun

as darkness carves the mind

we come undone without our pride

no time on earth to come

all the pleasures just begun

40 miles from the sun

in our coats beneath the layers

wash my skin of all the hate

we should sleep late

everything just kind of grates

40 miles from the sun

I need to lose to make it right

I'll confront the stars tonight

I will babble I will bite

You'll never know how much you shine

40 miles from the sun


End file.
